Cyclic response of Oak Street Bridge bents

• Main Author: Seethaler, Markus
• Format: Others
• Language: English
• Published: 2009
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/2429/3745

The Ministry of Transportation and Highways (MOTH) of British Columbia has initiated an upgrade program for its bridges. Among them is Oak Street Bridge, which spans the Fraser River between Vancouver and Richmond. The Ministry of Transportation and Highways of British Columbia decided to supplement the seismic assessment of the Oak Street Bridge by large scale tests of the bridge bents at the structures laboratories of the University of British Columbia. The proposed tests consists of slow cyclic loading through increasing displacements. The test series consists of five specimens of the Oak Street Bridge, with various retrofits and an as built version, and one as built specimen representing the Queensborough Bridge. A test setup to conduct the tests was designed and installed in the UBC structures laboratory. Predictions of the response of the prototype and the test specimen were conducted to establish a testing regime and loading sequence for the slow cyclic testing program. Various analysis methods were used to assess the seismic performance of the as built bridge bent. The first test, an as built model of the Oak Street Bridge bent, supplied the data of the experimental response to compare to the analytical predictions, and gave some further insight into the failure modes, and established the ultimate strengths. The severe deficiencies in shear reinforcement in the cap beam of the bents made an accurate prediction of the response of the bridge bent very difficult. The experimental investigation resulted in much improved understanding of the seismic performance of this very typical structural component of many bridge approaches in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia. === Applied Science, Faculty of === Civil Engineering, Department of === Graduate