Toward developing seismic design criteria for buried reinforced concrete arch bridges

Abstract

Current AASHTO LRFD Bridge Design Specifications do not offer guidance for the seismic design of buried bridges. However, past earthquakes have demonstrated the vulnerability of such structures due to the lack of appropriate seismic details. This research aims to address this gap by developing design criteria for buried bridges, thereby improving safety and serviceability during seismic events. To this end, this research employs rigorous finite element models to analyze the dynamic response of large-span reinforced concrete arch structures, which will be followed by large-scale experiments and parametric studies. This paper first presents details of the developed nonlinear finite element models. Then, the paper focuses on how site conditions, ground motion intensity, and frequency content influence structural performance under nonlinear soil-structure interaction. This paper also provides an overview of the experimental program that will be carried out using the laminar soil box and shake table facility at the University of Nevada, Reno, to validate key aspects of the numerical modeling. The validated models will support our future comprehensive parametric studies to guide the development of practical seismic design guidelines for buried arch bridges.