Comparison Between Seismic Behavior of Continuous Multiple Span Skewed Bridges with Concrete and Steel Columns

The seismic behavior of skewed bridges has not been well studied compared to straight bridges. Skewed bridges have shown extensive damage, especially due to deck rotation. Many causes are involved in this behavior such as columns and piers nonlinear deformation patterns. The columns material i.e. (concrete or steel) shall influence the pattern of the seismic behavior of the whole bridge. The objective of this study is to evaluate the effects of column material on earthquake performance of reinforced concrete deck bridges. Strength and stiffness modification factors are proposed to modify force-deformation behaviors of damaged columns. Maximum nonlinear displacement is sensitive to the increase in the number of spans and the earthquake angle of incident; therefore, as the number of spans increases, the deck displacement and rotation responses will be deducted for concrete piers but there is no decrease in steel piers.