Study of Seismic Performance of an Existing Highway Continuous Beam Bridge Reinforced with Damping Tenons in China

With the continuous updating of seismic specifications for bridges in China, there is a need to reinforce any existing bridges which cannot meet the current seismic fortification requirements. This paper investigates the seismic performance of an existing highway continuous beam bridge reinforced with damping tenons through finite element analysis. Firstly, a bridge model is established by OpenSees. Then, 400 seismic waves are transversely input in the model. Finally, the seismic response and the seismic fragility for the components of the unreinforced bridge and the reinforced bridge are compared and analyzed. The results show that the maximum lateral displacements and the seismic fragility probabilities of the bearings of the reinforced bridge are significantly reduced, but the maximum bending moments and the seismic fragility probabilities of the piers have little change. The damping tenon can be used to improve the seismic performance of existing highway continuous beam bridges.