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Behavior And Fatigue Properties Of Metallic Dampers For Seismic Retrofit Of Highway Bridges, Genda Chen, Stephen Eads

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The objective of this study is to develop an economical solution with metallic dampers for the seismic retrofit of highway bridges in low occurrence seismic zones, such as in the Central and Eastern United States. Select low carbon steel rods were first tested for their ductile behavior and material strength. Large-scale, tapered rods were then tested for their energy dissipation capability and fatigue strength under regular, irregular, and earthquake loads. A full-scale damper made of five tapered rods was designed next for the seismic retrofit of a three-span continuous steel-girder bridge in southeast Missouri; its system performance including joints and …