Dynamic response of buried flexible steel structures to earthquakes

Objective

Buried flexible steel (BFS) structures made of corrugated steel have become recently an attractive alternative to conventional mid-span bridges and shallow cut-and-cover tunnels in North, Central and Eastern Europe. Nevertheless, their construction in seismically active regions of Europe is currently practically absent, with little research conducted and no design guidelines provided. This project aims to provide comprehensive characterisation of the dynamic response of BFS structures to earthquake loading and to derive simplified design guidelines in order to safely introduce the technology of BFS structures in seismically active regions of Europe. To this aim, an integrated methodology of geotechnical centrifuge modelling, field monitoring of an existing BFS structure in a seismic zone and finite element numerical studies is proposed. The state-of-the-art centrifuge studies will allow to identify critical mechanisms of the dynamic soil-structure interaction of BFS structures and, together with unique monitoring data from a real structure, to validate the finite element (FE) numerical models. The FE models will be developed using advanced soil constitutive models and, following validation, will be used to carry out parametric studies, based on which the simplified design guidelines will be derived. The proposed research will have significant scientific impact (new knowledge), societal impact (safe and sustainable structures in seismic areas of Europe) and economic impact (substantially reduced costs when compared with conventional bridges and tunnels). The Researcher will develop new research skills in centrifuge modelling and structural monitoring as well as transferable skills during the project, thus the employability of the Researcher will be significantly increased.