Application of Expansion Double Spherical Seismic Isolation Bearing in Seismic Design of Continuous Girder Bridges

The double spherical seismic isolation (DSSI for short) bearing has been adopted in seismic design of several important engineering projects since developed recently. It was used generally as fixed bearings in a continuous girder bridge in these projects, and only a few fixed piers, usually just one fixed pier would transmit the horizontal earthquake action to the foundation, which is uneconomical and results in the much larger seismic risk in the longitudinal direction of a continuous girder bridge than that in the transverse direction. In order to share the earthquake effect with all the piers and avoid relative vertical displacement among all the bearings under the normal traffic conditions, a new seismic design method of continuous girder bridges is introduced. The configuration and working mechanism of two kinds of DSSI bearings used to make the new seismic design possible are introduced. It’s shown that the method is preferable for the seismic design of continuous girder bridges by a numerical seismic analysis with a four-span continuous girder bridge.