Out-of-plane seismic failure assessment of spandrel walls in long-span masonry stone arch bridges using cohesive interface

Abstract

The main structural elements of historical masonry arch bridges are arches, spandrel walls, piers and foundations. The most vulnerable structural elements of masonry arch bridges under transverse seismic loads, particularly in the case of out-of-plane actions, are spandrel wall. The vulnerability of spandrel walls under transverse loads increases with the increasing of their length and height. This paper computationally investigates the out-of-plane nonlinear seismic response of spandrel walls of long-span and high masonry stone arch bridges. The Malabadi Bridge with a main arch span of 40.86m and rise of 23.45m built in 1147 in Diyarbakir, Turkey, is selected as an example. The Concrete Damage Plasticity (CDP) material model adjusted to masonry structures, and cohesive interface interaction between the infill and the spandrel walls and the arch are considered in the 3D finite element model of the selected bridge. Firstly, mode shapes with and without cohesive interfaces are evaluated, and then out-of-plane seismic failure responses of the spandrel walls with and without the cohesive interfaces are determined and compared with respect to the displacements, strains and stresses.