Estimation of Seismic Behaviour of Corroded Steel Bridge Plates

The maintenance and safety of existing bridges is an important concern of all highway and railroads. Corrosion is one of the most important causes of deterioration of steel girder bridges which affects their long term mechanical performance, usability and durability. Furthermore, some recent earthquakes demonstrated the potential seismic vulnerability of some types of steel bridges, and hence, it would be very important to understand the behavior of existing steel bridges which are corroding for decades in future severe seismic events. Therefore, the prediction of residual ultimate strength capacities of steel bridge members with different corrosion conditions is investigated under different earthquake loadings and a methodology to assess the seismic demand of existing steel bridge members with different corrosion conditions is discussed.