Pretest analysis of shake table response of a two-span steel girder bridge incorporating accelerated bridge construction connections

This paper presents pretest analysis of a shake table test model of a 0.35-scale, two-span, steel plate girder bridge. The objective of pretest analysis was to obtain an insight on the seismic response of the bridge model during the shake table tests. The bridge included seat type abutments, full-depth precast deck panels, and a two-column bent in which columns were pinned to the footing and integral with superstructure. Six accelerated bridge construction connections were incorporated in the bridge model. An analytical model was developed in OpenSees and was subjected to ten input bi-directional earthquake motions including near-fault and far-field records. The overall seismic response of the bridge was satisfactory for all the earthquake records at 100%, 150%, and 200% design level. All connections and capacity-protected components remained elastic, and the average ductility capacity surpassed the ductility demand even at 200% design level. Using experimental fragility curves developed for RC bridge columns, it was predicted that there was a probability of 45% that columns would undergo the imminent failure in the last run and a probability of 30% for their failure.