Comparative assessment of the seismic performance of integral and conventional bridges with respect to the differences at the abutments

In this study, the seismic performance of integral and conventional bridges is compared particularly considering the differences at their abutments. For this purpose, three existing integral bridges with one, two and three spans are selected and then designed as conventional jointed bridges. The structural models of the integral and conventional bridges are then built including nonlinear structural and dynamic soil-bridge interaction effects. Next, nonlinear time history analyses of the bridge models are conducted using a set of ground motions. In the analyses, the ground motions are scaled to peak ground accelerations ranging between 0.2 and 0.8 g to assess the seismic performance of integral bridges in relation to that of conventional bridges at various ground motion intensities and associated performance levels. The analyses results revealed that integral bridges have superior seismic performance compared to conventional bridges in terms of smaller inelastic rotations at piers and piles, deck displacements, pile axial forces, abutment rotations, pier column drifts and bearing displacements for the bridges under consideration.