Earthquake Protection of Bridges (acronym: ASPROGE)

 

Sponsor:

General Secretariat of Research and Development .


Partners:

Aristotle University of Thessaloniki,
Egnatia Odos AE,
University of Thessaly,
University of Patras,
Democritus University of Thrace,
National Technical University of Athens,
Institute of Engineering Seismology and Earthquake Engineering,
DOMI,
DENCO,
ELEMKA,
EDAFOS,
Seismomonosis AE,
Themeliodomi AE,
Tsiknias & Associates AE.


Objective:

The project aims at the analysis of seismic behavior of bridges, as well as on their integrity under strong seismic loads. Emphasis is given on the newly constructed highway bridges in Greece, especially those in the Egnatia Highway. This highway is a 680 klm highway, connecting he harbor or Igoumenitsa with the Greek-Turkish border, and comprises 30 imortant bridges, as well as a total 500 regular bridges. The general objectives of the project are:

  • Improvement of the seismic performance of bridges to be constructed in the future.
  • Assessment of the actual structural characteristics of existing bridges and their vulnerability.


The University of Thessaly participates in work packages 5, 6 and 7, which belong to the second general objective of the project. Given the fact that the majority of the bridges have been constructed, and that bridges are generally vulnerable in seismic loads, the present project is very important for safeguarding the structural integrity of bridges, as well as keeping an acceptable level of reliability that ensures the operation of the highway.
More specifically, based on actual measurements obtained from appropriate instrumentation of bridges with accelerometers, special computer algorithms are developed for the identification of the structural characteristics of the bridges, and the updating of their structural modes, towards the efficient diagnosis of damages due to accidental loads or material deterioraton.

Principal Investigator of UTh:

Costas Papadimitriou

Participants:

Spyros A. Karamanos, Philip Perdikaris


Total Budget:

2,000,000 Euros


UTh Budget:

96,000 Euros


Duration:

36 months (2003 - 2006)