The Seismic Response Evaluation of an Existing Multi-span Reinforced Concrete Highway Bridge in the Presence of Linear and Nonlinear Viscous Dampers

Abstract It’s crucial to keep bridges safe and operational all the time. Before or after an earthquake, they may require immediate seismic retrofitting. In this situation, adopting both isolation systems and viscous dampers could be used as a solution. Therefore, the seismic performance of a RC bridge with linear and nonlinear viscous dampers at both pier tops and abutments is investigated. The selected bridge model is the Incesu Bridge in Artvin province in north–eastern Turkiye. In the bridge model, elastomer bearings (EBs) and viscous dampers (VDs) are added to the abutments and the tops of the piers (i.e., the bridge deck connection points). The results revealed that the maximum bending moment of two piers could be significantly reduced compared with the case where the pier’s tops are fixed to its deck. However, a large level of a viscous damper coefficient added to a bridge could cause structural damage to its deck under a strong design earthquake.