Parametric Study on Bridge Decks Pounding Considering Soil-Structure Interaction Under Earthquake Excitation

A bridge might sustain significant damage or collapse due to an earthquake’s pounding on nearby, insufficiently separated structures. Knowing the maximum impact force value anticipated during an earthquake is necessary to evaluate the damage’s extent and design various pounding mitigation techniques. Therefore, the present study aims to investigate the parameters affecting the pounding forces of two nearby separated bridge decks, including soil-structure interaction (SSI). Analyses of the results reveal that consideration of the flexibility of the soil supporting the foundation would affect the maximum pounding force value, even if the structural parameters such as gap sizes, masses of the colliding structure, and damping of the colliding decks are considered to the same in both in structural condition, flexible base condition (with SSI) and fixed base condition (without SSI). It is observed from the study that consideration of SSI would reduce the maximum pounding force, which further decreases with an increase in gap size. The study also examines the effect of the mass ratio of colliding bridge decks, and it has been observed that the maximum pounding force increases with an increase in the mass ratio of colliding bridge decks. The study investigates the effect of soil flexibility (SSI) and fixed base (without SSI) on the peak value of pounding force for the different mass ratios of colliding bodies.