PEER research improves seismic
reliability and safety of bridges
2
Photo/NISEE Archive
Photo/NISEE Archive
1
1. After an earthquake, will you be
able to safely get out of your office and
drive back home to your family? PEER
research looks at the probability of
extensive damage and collapse, and
the ability of bridges to still function
after an earthquake.
Photo/NISEE Archive
2. Bridges move when earthquakes
shake the ground. If the bridge deck
moves too far from the foundation, it
won’t be safe to drive across. PEER
tests the ability of new bridge recentering technology and advanced
materials to reduce damage and pull
the bridge back to its original shape for
post-earthquake safety and function.
1994 Northridge Earthquake
Figure/Megally, et al. (2002), Aviram (2006)
3
Exterior shear keys
Superstructure
Wing wall
Bearing padsBack wall
3. Using new mathematical models of
structures, engineers can design
bridges on a computer and subject
them to earthquakes and liquefactioninduced lateral spreading before
physical construction begins. The
models developed by PEER are
realistic enough to ensure that modern
bridges have an acceptable safety
margin against total collapse.
Deck
Expanded
Polystyrene
CL
Stem wall
Footing
Piles
4. In a transportation network, some
bridges and highways are more
important than others. Identifying these
is important for emergency response,
retrofit priorities, and regional network
resilience. Economic losses due to
earthquake damage can be enormous.
PEER research uses adaptive routing
to identify safe routes after a disaster
and uses geographic correlation to
bound dollar losses.
Columns
4
San Francisco
Bay Region
28-0121
1.6
1.4
1.2
1
0.8
0.6
0.4
0.2
0
-1
10
28-0122
1.4
Loss Coefficient of Variation
Loss Coefficient of Variation
Loss Uncertainty (c.o.v.)
1.6
Independent
Partial
Perfect
1
0.8
0.6
0.4
0.2
0
Damage
DamageCorrelation
Correlation
1.2
10
Richmond,
Contra Costa
County, CA
Hayward Fault
Independent
Partial
Perfect
0
-1
10
0
10
Damage Correlation
Transportation Network Study
Emergency Response Routes
PEER
Pacific Earthquake Engineering Research Center
Poster by A. Aviram (UCB), K. Mackie (UCF), B. Stojadinovic (UCB), J.-M. Wong (UCB)
Contributions by Y. Fan (UCD), A. Kiremidjian (Stanford), R. Lee (Stanford), S. Mahin (UCB), H. Shin (UW)