Residual drift spectra for RC bridge columns subjected to near-fault earthquakes

Permanent displacement of a bridge column can be directly measured during the inspection after near-fault earthquakes. However, the engineer needs to estimate the expected residual drift at the design stage to determine if the bridge seismic performance is satisfactory. The most direct method to estimate the residual displacement is nonlinear response history analysis, which is time consuming and cumbersome. Alternatively, an attractive but indirect method is generating estimated residual displacement spectra that depend on displacement ductility demand, column period, site conditions, and earthquake characteristics. Given the period and the expected displacement ductility demand for the column, the residual drift response spectra curves can be utilized to estimate the residual drift demand. Residual drift spectra that are applicable to RC bridge columns in different parts of the United States were developed based on nonlinear response history analyses using a comprehensive collection of recorded and synthetic near-fault ground motions and were linked to one-second spectral acceleration (S1) of the AASHTO maps. It was also found that the residual drift ratio is below one percent when S1 is less than 0.6 g.