An improved pushover analysis procedure for multi-mode seismic performance evaluation of bridges: (2) Correlation study for verification

In the companion paper, a simple but effective analysis procedure termed an Improved Modal Pushover Analysis (IMPA) is proposed to estimate the seismic capacities of multi-span continuous bridge structures on the basis of the modal pushover analysis, which considers all the dynamic modes of a structure. In contrast to previous studies, the IMPA maintains the simplicity of the capacity-demand curve method and gives a better estimation of the maximum dynamic response in a bridge structure. Nevertheless, to verify its applicability, additional parametric studies for multi-span continuous bridges with large differences in the length of adjacent piers are required. This paper, accordingly, concentrates on a parametric study to review the efficiency and limitation in the application of IMPA to bridge structures through a correlation study between various analytical models including the equivalent single-degree-offreedom method (ESDOF) and modal pushover analysis (MPA) that are usually used in the seismic design of bridge structures. Based on the obtained numerical results, this paper offers practical guidance and/or limitations when using IMPA to predict the seismic response of a bridge effectively.