Seismic induced pounding of bridge structures: An overview

For smooth traffic flow, the gap of an expansion joint between adjacent decks of bridges is usually small and not sufficient to preclude poundings between decks during strong earthquake shakings. Pounding usually causes damage to bridge decks. Such damage might result in complete or partial closure of the bridge, which might have significant impacts on post-earthquake rescue and recovery, and subsequently resulting in possible life and economy losses. To mitigate seismic pounding damage of bridges, intensive researches have been conducted. These include experimental tests and numerical simulations. This paper presents a state-of-the-art review in this field, discusses the pros and cons of each approach and its limitation, and the current research and challenges.