Performance Test of Energy Dissipation Bearing and Its Application in Seismic Control of a Long-Span Bridge

Energy dissipation bearing (EDB) is a conventional steel bridge bearing in connection with well designed mild steel dampers. Seismic performance test was undertaken for both damper units and a prototype bearing, and the results show very stable and high dissipation characteristics. In describing the hysteretic behavior of EDBs, the Wen model is proved to be more reasonable, and the corresponding model parameters are also proposed according to the test results. EDBs have been applied in the seismic control of a long span bridge, the Nanjing Jia River Bridge, for the first time, in both the longitudinal and transverse directions. Sensitivity studies were conducted to investigate the effectiveness and to determine the optimum parameters and distribution of the EDBs through nonlinear time-history analysis. The results show that EDBs achieve a very high effectiveness in seismic control, in both the longitudinal and transverse directions. Compared with other damping devices, they can provide a simple but valid seismic control solution, with low maintenance requirements, especially in the transverse direction.