Seismic damage assessment of reinforced concrete bridge columns

This paper presents a nonlinear finite element analysis procedure for the seismic damage assessment of reinforced concrete bridge columns. A computer program, named RCAHEST (Reinforced Concrete Analysis in Higher Evaluation System Technology), for the analysis of reinforced concrete structures was used. A damage index based on the predicted hysteretic behavior of a reinforced concrete bridge column is defined. Damage indices aim to provide a means of quantifying numerically the damage in reinforced concrete bridge columns sustained under earthquake loading. The proposed numerical method for the seismic damage assessment of reinforced concrete bridge columns is verified by comparison with reliable experimental results.