Damage assessment of bridge piers subjected to vehicle collision

Abstract

In this article, a method was proposed to assess damage of the bridge piers subjected to vehicle collision with the help of the detailed numerical model. Nonlinear material constitutive laws considering the strain rate effect were adopted in the models. Validation was performed by comparing the numerical results with the available experimental results in terms of impact force, displacement, and failure pattern. Based on the validated numerical models, the failure process and different damage levels of the piers under impacts were analyzed. The results showed a four-stage failure process as well as four damage levels with the increase of the vehicle impact force. According to the numerical study, a new damage index and the corresponding assessment criterion were defined to assess damage of the impacted pier. A vehicle impact force equation and a half-sine impact impulse were developed for damage index.