Analysis of a Bridge on Chiang Mai-Chiang Rai Highway No.118 Under Earthquake Load

Abstract

Highway bridge is an important lifelines. Because it is built for the purpose of providing passage over obstacle such as valleys, rivers, road or rail. However, if the bridge was not designed properly, it may cause severely damages owing to the bridge failure. Earthquake is a natural phenomenon that can do significant damage to structures. Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai which is ranked as the 1^st and 2^nd largest economy in Northern Thailand. Also, Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai share borders with other countries such as Laos, Myanmar and Southern China, resulting in higher economic growth between countries. In this study, the bridge on the highway route 118 (Latitude 18.979623, Longitude 99.259073) Pa Miang, Doi Saket, Chiang Mai, Thailand, that links Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai, is selected to assess the seismic performance. The selected bridge is located near active faults in which caused the 6.3 richter earthquake in 2014. Therefore, seismic behaviors of the selected highway bridge is very important. In this study, nonlinear time history analysis was applied to acquire and to evaluate seismic behaviors of the selected highway bridge. Seismic behaviors of the selected highway bridge using nonlinear time history analysis are presented. Moreover, information and recommendations based on the results are provided.