Soil structure interaction of integral abutmentb bridges

Abstract

Integral Abutment Bridges (IAB) are defined as simple or multiple span bridges in which the bridge deck is cast monolithically with the abutment walls. Integral abutment bridges are becoming very popular due to its good response under seismic loading, low initial costs, elimination of bearings, and less maintenance. However the main issue related to the analysis of this type of structures is dealing with soil-structure interaction of the abutment walls and the supporting piles. The interaction between the structure and the adjacent soil media is essential in analysis, and gives a better prediction of the structural behavior compared to the analysis of the structure alone. Large varieties of soil constitutive models have been used in studies of soil-structure interaction in this kind of structures by researchers. This paper is an effort to review the implementation of finite elements model which explicitly incorporates the nonlinear soil and linear structural response considering various loading condition and finite element models.