The objective of this course is to assist a licensed design professional, practicing structural engineers, forensic structural engineers, consulting engineers, building officials,  educators, students or/and a licensed general contractor to deeply know, and understand how to do the seismic analysis and design of precast concrete bridges. The importance of this course lies in the fact that there are not a sufficient number of references dealing with this topic, so the course was designed to be an important guide for the structural engineers those working in this field. Precast concrete bridge components and systems provide effective and economical design solutions for new bridge construction and for the rehabilitation of existing bridges. The use of precast components can shorten road closure times, minimize interference with traffic flow, and accomplish the objective often cited by officials to “get in, get out, and stay out.” Seismic design of precast concrete bridges begins with a global analysis of the response of the structure to earthquake loadings and a detailed evaluation of connections between precast beams and of connections between the superstructure and the supporting substructure. Ductile behavior is desirable under earthquake loadings for both the longitudinal and transverse directions of the bridge. Further, the substructure must be made to either protect the superstructure from force effects due to ground motions through fusing or plastic hinging, or to transmit the inertial forces that act on the bridge to the ground through a continuous load path. This course is intended to augment, and not replace the AASHTO Guide Specifications for LRFD Seismic Bridge Design (AASHTO, 2009) (referred to herein as the LRFD Seismic Guide Specifications or any agency requirements for seismic analysis or design. The designer should verify the latest applicable standards with the owner and discuss any necessary exceptions before beginning design. For the current state‐of‐the‐practice, the seismic design of precast concrete bridges employs an AASHTO‐LRFD Type 1 design strategy and uses connections between precast concrete elements and between cast‐in‐place (CIP) concrete and precast concrete elements that are intended to emulate the behavior of CIP concrete connections. Seismic design is complex. Bridges of similar characteristics in different locations may behave very differently during an earthquake. The engineer should not copy details that have been used on previous projects without a complete understanding of the reasons behind the original design.

Learning Objectives

• Gaining a general overview on the potential causes of earthquake damage to bridges with precast components
• Gaining a general overview on the seismic hazard maps
• Gaining a general overview on the seismic performance criteria for precast concrete bridge structures
• Gaining a general overview on the precast systems and components (superstructure types & substructure components)
• Gaining a general overview on the structural response of a various systems of precast bridges
• Familiarizing with preliminary design considerations
• Familiarizing with seismic design criteria of the AASHTO specifications
• Familiarizing with California, Japan & New Zealand seismic design criteria
• Gaining a general overview on the seismic analysis
• Gaining a general overview on the various connection details of precast bridges in details
• Gaining a general overview on the precast abutments
• Familiarizing with step by step design examples plus detailed calculations & checks with screen shots of the used software