Two New Earthquake Resistant Integral Abutments for Medium to Long Span Bridges

摘要

A wide field of study is open to new abutment configurations and design innovation as no unified procedure is available for the design and construction of integral abutment bridges (IABs). In this framework, an extended state-of the-art review on the configuration of IABs, with emphasis on the European Bridge Engineering, was done and two new integral abutments were studied. The primary feature of both integral abutments is the decoupling of the in-service response of the bridge from the backfill soil and the utilization of the backfill's resistance during earthquake, aiming at reducing the seismic demand on bridges. This objective was achieved by accommodating the in-service constraint movements of the deck through the flexibility of the IAB and via as small as possible clearances. During an earthquake the IABs interact with the backfill soil and reduce the displacements of the deck and thereby the seismic demand on bridge piers and foundations. Abutments will be useful in future design of intermediate to long-span bridges.