Effect of vehicle-bridge interaction on nonlinear seismic performance of bridge under strong earthquakes

Railway bridges are continuously loaded by railway trains; therefore, it is important to understand the nonlinear seismic response of the Vehicle-Bridge Interaction (VBI) system under strong earthquakes. For this purpose, the nonlinear behavior of the pier was introduced into the in-house VBI solvers. The nonlinear the seismic response of the VBI system was comprehensively evaluated using this model, and the effect of the vehicle dynamics on seismic performance of the bridge was identified. It was found that the seismic responses of most simply-supported bridges were reduced in the presence of railway trains due to the out-of-phase motion of the vehicle-bridge system. Meanwhile, the nonlinear behavior of the pier can reduce the vehicle’s seismic responses. Therefore, ignoring the nonlinear behavior of the pier during strong earthquakes can significantly overestimate the seismic response of the vehicle.