Affiliations: Bridge Software Institute, College of Engineering, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA | Engineering School of Sustainable Infrastructure & Environment, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA
Note: [] Corresponding author. Michael Davidson, Bridge Software Institute, College of Engineering, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA. E-mail: michael@ce.ufl.edu
Abstract: Accounting for the effects of waterway vessel collision is a necessary consideration in the analysis of bridge pier structures that span navigable waterways. During collision events, impact forces are transferred along the interface between the impacting vessel and the impacted pier component. Vessel collision forces are dynamic in nature, and in turn, are coupled with dynamic bridge response. Further, the maximum magnitude of the impact forces is sensitive to the geometry of the impacted pier component. This coupling effect in vessel-bridge collisions is highlighted in this paper. Robust finite element analysis models are developed and used for a selected bridge case to illustrate the advantages of incorporating dynamic and shape-specific phenomena. Using ordinary computational resources, the bridge analysis software FB-MultiPier is showcased as a means of rapidly assessing dynamic bridge response to vessel collision loading.
Keywords: Extreme-event loading, vessel collision, structural dynamics, finite element analysis
