Influence of steel jacket thickness on the RC bridges' seismic vulnerability

The seismic demands of bridges subjected to strong earthquakes are mostly concentrated on piers. The main objective of this study is to assess the seismic vulnerability of retrofitted bridges with steel jackets. It analyzes the influence of the steel jacket thickness on the seismic capacity and demand of bridges. The bridges in study have two simple supported spans with superstructure composed by AASHTO type girders and a substructure formed with one circular pier over a stiff foundation. They are located on the Pacific coast of Mexico that is a zone of high seismicity. The bridges seismic capacity are evaluated through nonlinear static analyses and the shear force and displacement demands were determined using capacity spectra with a group of 10 real accelerograms from a subduction source. The response spectra were scaled to several peak ground accelerations (PGA) with the aim to estimate four damage scenarios linked each one to a probability of exceedance in a specific period, for return periods in the range of 72–3500 years that represent service level and maximum considered earthquake. Results show that the confining effect provided by the steel jackets substantially improves the seismic performance of the bridges piers. The increase of jacket thickness guides to important increments on columns base shear capacity, and the influence of the steel jacket thickness depends on the limit state and bridge slenderness ratio.