Reliability analysis of reinforced concrete vehicle bridges columns using non-parametric Bayesian networks

In the bridge industry, current traffic trends have increased the likelihood of having the simultaneous presence of both extreme live loads and earthquake events. To date, their concurrent interaction has scarcely been systematically studied. Prevailing studies have investigated the isolated existence of either live loads or seismic actions. In an effort to fill this gap in the literature, a non-parametric Bayesian Network (BN) has been proposed. It is aimed at evaluating the conditional probability of failure for a reinforced concrete bridge column, subject simultaneously to the actions mentioned above. Based on actual data from a structure located in the State of Mexico, a Monte Carlo Simulation model was developed. This led to the construction of a BN with 17 variables. The set of variables included in the model can be categorized into three groups: acting loads, materials resistances and structure force-displacement behavior. Practitioners are then provided with a tool for unspecialized labor force to gather information in situ (e.g. Weight-In-Motion data and Schmidt hammer measurements), which can be included in the network, leading to an updated probability of failure. Moreover, this framework also serves as a quantitative tool for bridge column reliability assessments. Results from the theoretical model confirmed that the bridge column probability of failure was within the expected range reported in the literature. This reflects not only the appropriateness of its design but also the suitability of the proposed BN for reliability analysis.