Difficulties on Earthquake Design due to Standards Limits on an Extensive Offshore Bridge, Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah Causeway in Kuwait

摘要

Subiyah project design was implemented with long discussions due to standards limits. With 36 km of viaducts, all decisions had a significant impact on quantities and then on cost. Project is based on 2.5 and 3.0 m monopiles and standards design requirements are not adapted for such diameters. Moreover, some additional project requirements, not addressed in most of the codes, made also the design more complex (service earthquake and imposed strength reduction factor). All those parameters led to complex discussions on earthquake design: R factor value, capacity design, seismic detailing, P-D effect, asynchroneous motion, seismic design of bearings. The aim of this article is then to present all the previous inconsistencies of project standards for non-typical structures, all related discussions, and the numerous comparisons that have been done with Eurocode to explain and/or solve the problems.