Seismic Risk Analysis of Regular Girder Bridge Subjected to Mainshock-Aftershock Sequences

Abstract

When a structure is subjected to an earthquake sequence, the high rate of aftershocks after the mainshock and cumulative damage caused by the earthquake sequence make the structure very dangerous. Considering the uncertainty in seismic occurrences, structural damage is often predicted using a seismic risk analysis. This approach has become a main measure for seismic disaster assessment, and provides a reasonable reference for post-earthquake emergency response decision-making and pre-earthquake seismic design. Therefore, it is of great significance to study a seismic risk analysis considering the effect(s) of aftershocks. In this study, the aftershock hazard is estimated for a post-mainshock environment based on an aftershock probabilistic seismic hazard analysis. Considering the uncertainty regarding the mainshock and aftershock occurrences, in addition to the functional relationship between the mainshock and aftershock parameters, the aftershock seismic hazard is estimated for the pre-mainshock environment. The mainshock fragility and aftershock fragility of regular girder bridges are evaluated based on the Kunnath damage model. Finally, considering the damage accumulation in bridge structures, the seismic hazard and seismic fragility are combined to establish a post-mainshock aftershock seismic risk framework and pre-mainshock mainshock-aftershock seismic risk analysis framework. Based on these, the mainshock risk and mainshock-aftershock risk are compared to verify the importance of considering the aftershock effects in seismic disaster assessments. The aftershock risks for the bridges of different post-mainshock damage states are compared, and the influence of the initial damage after the mainshock on the damage to the structure in the post-mainshock environment is studied.