Numerical Study of Deformation Behavior of Geosynthetic Reinforced Soil Bridge Abutments Subjected to Longitudinal Shaking

Abstract

This paper presents a numerical study on the deformation behavior of geosynthetic reinforced soil (GRS) bridge abutments subjected to longitudinal shaking using the finite difference program FLAC. The soil model characterizes the soil as an elastic–plastic material with hysteretic behavior. Numerical simulations were conducted for a single-span full-bridge system, including the bridge beam, two GRS abutments, and foundation soil, subjected to the 1940 Imperial Valley motion in the longitudinal direction. Simulation results show that the two front wall facings in each abutment moved in-phase during shaking and had different residual facing displacements at the end of shaking due to asymmetry of the earthquake motion with respect to the abutment geometry. Bridge seat settlements at the two ends of the bridge system were similar.