Seismic vulnerability of historical arch type bridge structures in Italy

Abstract

Italy is located on a earthquake prone area and old bridges were desinged without any seismic provision. In the years (2009), tremors were felt in Italy due to the strong earthquakes at Abruzzo, which highlight the earthquake threat to Italy. This study focuses on seismic vulnerability of arch type masonry bridge structures in Italy, designed primarily for gravity loads, when they are subjected to earthquakes. A case study has been carried out for the vulnerability study for a 11 m span masonry arch bridge representing typical bridge structure in Italy. In the case study, nonlinear dynamic analyses for the full scale structures are carried out. The evaluation of the seismic vulnerability is carried out by verification of arch at mid span and near support of the bridge. The demand curve is obtained based on the accelerograms due to the worst earthquake scenario in Italy. From these studies, it is concluded that the arch type masonry bridges in Italy may suffer some damage due to the worst possible earthquake.