Evaluation of the influence of shear keys on the seismic behavior of chilean bridges

Abstract

In recent decades, many regions of the world have been affected by earthquakes that have resulted in significant damage to transportation networks and to bridges in particular. Notable among these in the past three decades are the 1989 Loma Prieta [1] and 1994 Northridge [2] events in the USA, the 1995 Hyogo-ken Nanbu [3] and 2011 Tohoku [4] in Japan, the 1999 Chi-Chi [5] in Taiwan, and the 2011 Christchurch [6] in New Zealand. Chile has not been an exception as it is located next to a 5,000 km long fault with a subduction rate of more than 7 cm/year, making it the most active subduction zone in the world [7]. Throughout its history, the country has been hit by severe earthquakes that has shown that road bridges designed under modern design codes are structures vulnerable to failures or collapses. This has been attributed to conceptual problems in the design codes and the lack of attention during the development of design projects.