Nonlinear Analysis of Bridge Piers under Barge Collision Load

This paper proposes nonlinear analyses of bridge pier-barge collision. A reinforced concrete bridge pier, a precast concrete deck and a Jumbo Hopper (JH) barge are modeled using LS-DYNA. The impact forces and structural responses of the reinforced concrete pier subjected to various barge impact loads are investigated. The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) specifications and the previous studies on barge-pier collisions are used as baselines. It is demonstrated that the proposed finite element analysis (FEA) is effective to estimate the nonlinear behavior of the reinforced concrete bridge pier under barge impact loading.