Dynamic Amplification of Pier Column Internal Forces Due to Barge–Bridge Collision

In the United States, bridge design provisions for waterway vessel collision typically involve static application of code-prescribed impact loads. However, results from full-scale experimental impact tests have revealed that significant mass-related inertial forces can develop in affected piers because of the overlying superstructure. In part on the basis of these findings, a dynamic (time history) analysis technique was previously developed; it predicts both impact load and structural response. In the current research, the dynamic analysis technique is combined with recently developed barge force–deformation relationships and a simplified bridge modeling technique to conduct a detailed investigation of collision-induced dynamic amplification phenomena. Design forces are quantified for a wide range of bridge types by using dynamic and static analyses. For each bridge considered, dynamic amplifications are numerically quantified by comparing dynamic to static predictions of pier column demand. Significant amplification effects are consistently found among the barge–bridge collision simulations conducted, indicating that dynamic phenomena should be accounted for in bridge design.