In March 2011, the Tohoku tsunami swept over the east coast of Japan killing more than 15,000 people and missing more than 2,500 people. The tsunami resulted in collapsing of more than 400,000 buildings and washing away of more than 250 coastal bridges. In this study, the collapse of Tsuyagawa bridge damaged by the Tohoku tsunami is numerically investigated using the applied element method (AEM) because of its advantages for simulating structural progressive collapse. The AEM is a discrete crack approach that allows the elements separation, fall, and collision with each other in a fully nonlinear dynamic scheme of computations. The analysis was demonstrated to efficiently simulate the bridge collapse, showing that the bridge collapsed at a water speed of 6.6 m=s initiated by flexural failure of its piers. The study of bridge strengthening showed that the collapse water speed could be increased by 22 and 29% compared to Tohoku tsunami if piers are strengthened by a 100-mm RC jacket and 20-mm thick steel jacket, respectively.

Salem, H, Mohssen, S., Nishikiori, Y., and Hosoda, A. (2016) Numerical Collapse Analysis of Tsuyagawa Bridge Damaged by Tohoku Tsunami. ASCE Journal of Performance of Constructed Facilities, 10.1061/(ASCE)CF.1943-5509.0000925 , 04016065.


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