EAPSI: Risk Assessment of Coastal Bridges and Potential Surge Retrofit Measures

Mondoro Alysson M, Bethlehem PA

Investigators

Abstract

Surge events, like those experienced in Japan after the 2011 Tohoku Earthquake and in the Gulf Coast region of the United States after Hurricane Katrina in 2005, have the potential to inflict significant damage to existing structures and infrastructure systems. Low-clearance coastal bridges have the potential to be forced off their supports by extreme surge events. This detrimental consequence can often be the result of neglecting hydraulic loads in the initial design, an inadequate design, or corrosion damage to the structure. This project aims to assess the potential for failure of existing coastal bridges subjected to surge loads, in addition to identifying and assessing potential surge retrofit measures that may be applied to existing coastal bridges to mitigate future damage. This research will be conducted in collaboration with Prof. Mitsuyoshi Akiyama, an expert on the effects of earthquakes and tsunamis on bridges, at Waseda University in Tokyo, Japan. The vulnerability of civil infrastructure to extreme coastal hazards has been highlighted over the past two decades as major tsunamis and hurricanes have struck densely populated, highly developed regions. Overall, this project will investigate the strengths and weaknesses of earthquake retrofit measures as they relate to resisting surge events and, ultimately, assess their effectiveness in mitigating risk considering future extreme events. This work will be done in collaboration with Prof. Mitsuyoshi Akiyama and Prof. Dan M. Frangopol, the fellow's dissertation advisor. Furthermore, the uncertainties associated with the loads and structural response corresponding to coastal infrastructure, as well as the social, environmental, and economic consequences of failures will be investigated. Ultimately, key retrofit measures with the potential to mitigate the risk associated with coastal bridges subjected to surge events will be identified and researched extensively. This award under the East Asia and Pacific Summer Institutes program supports summer research by a U.S. graduate student and is funded jointly by NSF and the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science.