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Performance of base isolated bridges in recent South Iceland earthquakes

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingChapterpeer-review

Abstract

Since 1983, 15 Icelandic bridges have been base isolated for seismic protection. Lead-rubber bearings have been used in all cases. Nine of these bridges are located in the South Iceland Lowland, which is an active seismic zone where earthquakes of magnitude seven can be expected. In June 2000 two Mw6.5 earthquakes struck in the area and in May 2008 a Mw6.3 event hit the area again. Four of the base isolated bridges were located in the near-fault area of these earthquakes with a fault-to-site distance of less than 15 km, and most likely three of them were subjected to strong low-frequency near-fault velocity pulses. None of the bridges collapsed or were severely damaged and all of them were open for traffic immediately after these events. Post-earthquake response analysis has indicated that the base isolation was important for the performance of the bridges.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationGeotechnical, Geological and Earthquake Engineering
PublisherSpringer Netherlands
Pages123-135
Number of pages13
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2019

Publication series

NameGeotechnical, Geological and Earthquake Engineering
Volume47

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright: © Springer International Publishing AG, part of Springer Nature 2019.

Other keywords

  • Base isolation
  • Bridge design
  • Case history
  • Lead-rubber bearings
  • Near-fault effect

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