Shaking table tests on an integral abutment bridge model: Preliminary results

Over the last decade, there was a renewed interest on Integral Abutment Bridges (IABs), characterized by the absence of bearing supports and expansion joints, leading to reduced construction and maintenance cost over ordinary bridges. Due to monolithic connections between abutments and deck, complex Soil-Structure Interaction (SSI) phenomena tend to develop between bridge and backfill in static and dynamic conditions, due to thermal expansion and earthquake action, respectively. An experimental campaign was conducted using the 3x3 m 6 DOF shaking table and the 5 m long shear stack of the University of Bristol, focusing on SSI effects between the IAB model and the backfill soil under earthquake loading. After a description of test set-up and of protocol, preliminary results will be illustrated and discussed.