ABSTRACT
Bridges can be subjected to significant hydrodynamic forces that lead to substantial damage under extreme wave hazards. In particular, the strong deck restraint can cause significant lateral displacement in piers as a result of the force transfer. This study presents a methodology for evaluating the vulnerability of bridges strengthened with FRP jackets. The FRP jackets were applied on the piers of the bridge and the fragility functions were developed for damage states that define three different performance levels: first crack, yielding and ultimate load. The response of bridge in the form pier drift was estimated at each intensity measure increment and the fragility functions at all inundation depths were obtained. The results showed that the use of FRP jackets is effective for enhancing the resilience of bridge under extreme waves. In addition, the momentum flux was found to be an efficient intensity measure for providing an accurate prediction of the bridge response which facilitates the study of the effectiveness of different strengthening methods.
