Bridges

In the author’s opinion, the inconsistent interpretation of the earthquake design requirements described in AS5100-2017 Bridge Design has led to some Australian bridge designs deviating from the intended force-based design procedure, particularly in respect of the provision of the required ductility. This presents the significant risk that some of these bridges may perform poorly during a major earthquake, falling short of the expectations of the Australian community. This paper explores the force-based and displacement-based earthquake design procedures for the design of concrete bridges with respect to the ‘damage control’ performance limit.