The Response of Long-Span Bridges to Low Frequency, Near-Fault Earthquake Ground Motions

Historical seismic hazard characterizations did not include earthquake ground motion waveforms at frequencies below approximately 0.2 Hz (5 seconds period). This resulted from limitations in early strong motion instrumentation and signal processing techniques, a lack of measurements in the near-field of major earthquakes and therefore no observational awareness, and a delayed understanding in the engineering community of the potential significance of these types of motions. In recent years, there is a growing recognition of the relevance of near-fault, low frequency motions, particularly for long-period structures such as large bridges. This paper describes a computationally based study of the effects of low frequency (long-period) near-fault motions on long-span bridge response. The importance of inclusion of these types of motions for long span cable supported bridges is demonstrated using actual measured broad-band, near-fault motions from large earthquakes.