Response Characteristics of Irregular Continuous Rigid Frame Bridges with Long-Span and High-Rise Piers under Ground Motion Excitations with Different Fault Distances

An innovative seismic performance evaluation strategy for irregular rigid frame bridges with a long-span and high-rise piers under the action of ground motions with different fault distances is presented in this paper. A total of 129 mainshock records taken during the Wenchuan earthquake, from national seismic stations with different fault distances, were analyzed using statistical methods, to determine the attenuation characteristics of the intensity index of the Wenchuan earthquake records from the perspective of aseismic engineering, and the attenuation of the acceleration response spectrum is discussed. The Miaoziping Bridge on the Dujiangyan–Wenchuan Expressway, which was damaged in the Wenchuan earthquake, is taken as the analysis background; two sets of samples for long-span continuous rigid frame bridges with different pier heights are constructed, to discuss the seismic response characteristics of continuous long-span rigid frame bridges; and representative values for the natural periods of these two bridge structural groups are subsequently compared and analyzed. After the peak responses for various bridges with various pier heights are determined through a response spectrum analysis under the action of ground motions with different fault distances, and the surfaces for the obtained peak responses are fitted and the response characteristics for different fault distances are discussed. It is shown in the results that the seismic response characteristics of the continuous rigid frame bridges with long-span and high-rise piers were significantly different under the action of the ground motions with different fault distances, and the seismic responses of these two bridge groups were distinctly larger under the action of near-fault ground motions. Furthermore, based on the above research, suggestions for the pier arrangement and bridge site selection for continuous rigid frame bridges with long-span and high-rise piers are also discussed. The results of this paper also provide some theoretical guidance for the sustainable development of bridges with long-span and high-rise piers, from the perspective of bridge seismic response characteristics.