PMSS Project Details

Project ID:	FHWA-PROJ-08-0013
Project Name:	Multiple-Hazard Design Principles for Highway Bridges
Status:	Active
Contact:	Last Name: Yen First Name: Wen-Huei P (Phil) Telephone: 202-493-3056 E-mail: wen-huei.yen@dot.gov
Organization:	Federal Highway Administration - Turner-Fairbank Highway Research Center (TFHRC)
Office:	Office of Infrastructure Research and Development
Team:	Hazard Mitigation Team
Roadmap/Focus area(s):	Infrastructure Research and Technology Strategic Plan and Roadmap
Project Description:	Safety is one of the highest priorities among all design considerations of highway bridges. Extreme hazard loadings, such as earthquake, flooding, vessel collision, scouring, wind, and traffic overload have caused a significant number of bridge failures nationwide. Developing solutions to effectively deal with unexpected hazard loadings has been a significant challenge facing the bridge engineering community. Under the current American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials Load Resistance Factor Design Bridge Design Specifications, design safety of a highway bridge is measured by a uniform reliability. The design of individual natural hazard loadings, such as earthquake, is considered independently and is not consistent with other natural hazards or service loadings. This project seeks the solution of developing the bridge design principles/criteria that will be consistency in all natural hazards either an individual or a combined event.
Laboratories:	Not Applicable
Start Date:	August 1, 2008
End Date:	August 31, 2013
Funding Amount:	$2,994,000.00
FHWA Program Name:	Seismic Research
Goals:	This study will develop a fundamental design methodology and criteria to evaluate and compare the impact of multiple hazards on highway bridges.
Project Type:	Offsite
Background Information:	Data not yet available
Test Methodology:	The study will involve collecting and developing an information repository system with past highway bridge failure data and analysis. The information database shall serve as a baseline reference resource for technical and code development bodies to review the experiences and lessons learned from past multiple hazard events. This will call for developing a platform that can categorize relevant issues and key parameters into a simple quantitative format for evaluation, comparison, and discussion. The intent of this approach is to simplify and integrate available knowledge of hazards, probability theories, and fragility and reliability theories to build the comparison and evaluation platform. It will mean working on the calibration issues of extreme hazard events with very limited data and examining problem-specific issues through illustrative examples of current design case studies.
Other Information:	This study is a Congressionally mandated research project under the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users.
Partners:	Data not yet available
More Information URL(s):
Fieldtest:	Data not yet available
Expected Benefits:	Multihazard design of bridges.
Deliverables:	Name: Design criteria recommendation for multihazards. Product Type(s): Research report Description: Guidelines, specifications, and bridge design examples for multiple-hazards, all natural hazards (December 2012). Audiences: Researchers, Bridge design professionals, Federal Turner-Fairbank Highway Research Center staff, State highway agencies Secondary Audiences:
Related URL(s):
Project Findings:	Data not yet available
FHWA Topics:	Research/Technologies--FHWA Research and Technology
TRT Terms:	Earthquake Resistant Design Seismicity Hazard Analysis Infrastructure Research Bridges Highway Bridges Environmental Phenomena
FHWA Disciplines:	Structures
Subject Areas:	Bridges and other structures Design Research