CCEER-10-03: Proposed Seismic Provisions and Commentary for Steel Plate Girder Superstructures

Abstract

The seismic provisions of the current AASHTO LRFD Specifications (AASHTO, 2007) are based on the NCHRP Project 20-7/45. These provisions were updated in 2008 to include the 2006 USGS 1000-year maps and several revisions to keep the specifications current with the recent advances in the seismic analysis and design. However, none of these changes reflected the new information that was gained in the seismic analysis and design of steel plate girder superstructures. In an effort, to bridge this gap in the specifications, the American Iron and Steel Institute commissioned this report to propose updates for the seismic design of steel plate girder superstructures to AASHTO LRFD Specifications.

The objectives of this study are to:

1. Present the state-of-the art summary of research related to the seismic analysis and design of steel plate girder bridges 2. Develop code language and commentary that can be adopted in the AASHTO LRFD Specifications 3. Develop design examples that show how the proposed language can be used in the seismic analysis and design of steel plate girder bridges To achieve these objectives, Chapter 1 of this report discusses related research to the seismic behavior and design of steel plate girder bridges. Chapter 2 presents the proposed language and commentary for the seismic design of steel plate girder bridges. Chapter 3 presents detailed seismic analysis and design examples for a single span and a two span continuous steel plate girder bridge with a single column bent and a dropped cap. Appendix 1 presents a summary of all existing seismic specifications that are related to steel plate girder bridges.