Seismic response computations for a long span bridge

The authors are performing large-scale numerical computations to simulate the earthquake response of a major long-span bridge that crosses the San Francisco Bay. The overall objective of the study is to estimate the response of the bridge to potential large-magnitude earthquakes generated on the nearby San Andreas and Hayward earthquake faults. Generation of a realistic model of the bridge system is complicated by the existence of large pile group foundations that extend deep into soft, saturated clay soils, and by the numerous expansion joints that segment the overall bridge structure. In the current study, advanced, nonlinear, finite element technology is being applied to rigorously model the detailed behavior of the bridge system and to shed light on the influence of the foundations and joints of the bridge