IDARC Bridge: A Computational Platform for Seismic Damage Assessment of Bridge Structures

Keywords: IDARC-BRIDGE. Computer Programs. Inelastic Response. Analysis Bridges. Pushover Analysis. Reinforced Concrete. Nonlinear Static Analysis. Beam Column Models. Macromodels. Nonlinear Dynamic Analysis. Three Dimensional Analysis. Capacity. Demand.

Abstract: This report presents the theoretical background of a computer platform for three-dimensional inelastic analysis of bridge structures. The program adapts and extends some of the component and damage models of the existing platform for two-dimensional analysis of buildings IDARC-2D. Two distinct goals define the scope of IDARC-Bridge: 1) to serve as an efficient and user-friendly analytical tool for investigating the behavior of bridge structures by engineers and researchers, and 2) to provide a framework for future software development by allowing the user to incorporate new modules, element types and component models or replace the existing ones. IDARC BRIDGE offers methods for investigating the demand imposed by various types of excitation, as well as static and dynamic pushover options for assessing the available capacity and possible collapse modes. These two aspects of structural behavior are compared, using the concept of cumulative damage indexing, to provide information on the amount and location of damage in the system. The platform employs a macro-modeling approach to component modeling, which requires a good knowledge of the force-deformation properties of the member elements, information that can be derived by experiment or analysis of rigorous micro-models.