A REVIEW OF ADVANCES IN SEISMIC FRAGILITY RESEARCH ON BRIDGE STRUCTURES

In light of the proposed formal probabilistic framework for the Performance-Based Earthquake Engineering (PBEE), it is required to assess the seismic performance of bridge structures on the basis of probability. Seismic fragility analysis, combining the seismic response analysis and structural capacity analysis, has attracted wide attention. To improve the current level of research on seismic fragility analysis for bridge structures in China, firstly, the historic stage and development process of fragility analysis were reviewed, and studies on the seismic fragility analysis for bridge structures were summarized. Subsequently, the basic theory and research approaches of seismic fragility analysis were introduced in detail, i.e., the empirical analysis approach, theoretical analysis approach and the combined empirical-theoretical analysis approach. In addition, the shortcomings of current studies were analyzed. Furthermore, the application prospective and implications for future studies on seismic fragility analysis of bridge structures were suggested. The results indicate that various problems are needed to investigate as vital topics in the area of seismic fragility analysis for bridge structures, i.e., the consideration of uncertainties in environment, ground motions, site conditions and structural parameters, the selection of suitable ground motion intensity measures (IMs) and engineering demand parameters (EDPs), the correlation between components and their contributions to the seismic performance of bridge system, etc. More complicated issues were also identified involving the studies on site liquefaction, special fields and large-span bridges, which are significant for the development of the bridge structural seismic engineering.