This paper describes an original approach to the study of the seismic behaviour of bridge abutments. The proposed method incorporates a simplified description of the dynamic response of the bridge structure into a finite-element model of the soil–abutment system. Specifically, the dynamic behaviour of the bridge structure is described by a macro-element that simulates the loads transferred to the abutment during the seismic event. The macro-element is identified using a structural model of the bridge as a reference. This approach improves the current analysis methods based on sub-structuring, limiting at the same time the computational demand needed for a complete study of the soil–structure interaction. In the paper, the validity of the procedure is demonstrated comparing the results of the simplified approach with the results obtained from full three-dimensional dynamic analyses of idealised soil–bridge systems, using non-linear advanced constitutive models to describe the soil behaviour. Based on these results, a strategy is devised for the calibration of the bridge macro-element, making use of a limited number of input parameters.

中文翻译：

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宏桥分析法分析桥台结构上部结构的动力特性

本文介绍了一种研究桥台抗震性能的原始方法。所提出的方法将对桥梁结构动力响应的简化描述结合到土-基台系统的有限元模型中。具体来说，桥梁结构的动态行为由宏单元描述，该宏单元模拟地震事件期间传递到基台的载荷。使用桥梁的结构模型作为参考来识别宏观元素。这种方法改进了当前基于子结构的分析方法，同时限制了对土壤-结构相互作用的完整研究所需的计算需求。在纸上 通过使用非线性高级本构模型描述土壤行为，将简化方法的结果与理想化土桥系统的完整三维动态分析得到的结果进行比较，证明了该方法的有效性。基于这些结果，设计了一种使用有限数量的输入参数来校准桥宏元件的策略。