Report No.: CCEER-93-4
Title: Performance of Hinge Restrainers in the Huntington Avenue Overhead During the 1983 Loma Prieta Earthquake
Authors: Abdel-Ghaffar, S. M., Maragakis, E., and Saiidi, M.
Date: August 1993
A Report to the:
California Department of Transportation
National Science Foundation
Nevada Department of Transportation
Department of Civil Engineering/258
University of Nevada, Reno
Reno, Nevada 89557
This report is one of a series that results from the study "Evaluation of the Effects of the Seismic Retrofitting on the Earthquake Response of Highway Bridges". The Huntington Avenue Overhead suffered some damage during the Loma Prieta earthquake of October 17, 1989. This bridge is located approximately 35 miles northwest of the epicenter. The focus of the analysis for this bridge study was the nonlinear behavior of the expansion joint elements. Several parameters were studied in details. Parametric studies were carried out to determine the effect of cable restrainers and larger earthquake on the response of the bridge. Finally, based on the analytical results in conjunction with the damage report, a general conclusion regarding the analysis capability is deduced. Detailed mathematical procedures simulating nonlinear behavior of the expansion joints are included in the study.