Shape Memory Alloys for Multi-hazard Resiliency of Highway Bridges

Presently, reinforced concrete (RC) bridges are designed to survive significant natural and man-made hazards without collapsing; however, concrete damage and the rebar yielding are permitted. Excessive damage increases downtime, and sometimes the structure is beyond the repair stage and must be replaced. Shape memory alloy (SMA) rebars have been used extensively recently to enhance the behavior of structures in seismically active regions and limit their permanent damage, particularly when experiencing strong loads and seismic activity. Although the effectiveness of SMA as reinforcement in seismic-resistant design is well documented, performance of SMA-RC bridges under various multi-hazard scenario is not well understood. To investigate the resiliency of RC bridges against multi-hazard scenarios, this paper discusses the performance of SMA-RC bridges under three extreme loading scenarios such as earthquake, vehicle collisions, and extreme wave loads. This study will present the details of the vehicle collision and wave load simulation in finite element environment. The results will be compared with conventional steel-RC bridges under similar loading conditions. The findings of this investigation will facilitate comprehension of the advantages of SMA as longitudinal reinforcement for improving the multi-hazard resiliency of highway bridges.