Seismic Protection of Highway Bridges with Negative Stiffness Devices

Keywords: negative stiffness device, adaptive passive control, highway bridge seismic isolation, seismic protection, shake table testing

Abstract: The primary focus of this research is to analyze, implement and experimentally test the novel negative stiffness devices (NSDs) in a highway bridge. The bridge was configured with various isolation system components (isolation bearings, negative stiffness devices, and viscous dampers). In addition, the bridge was designed to mimic either a single-span bridge supported on abutments or an interior span of a multi-span bridge. The results of the investigation clearly demonstrate the effectiveness of the negative stiffness devices in limiting the seismic response of the bridge for multiple bridge configurations.