ABSTRACT
Hurricanes pose a major threat to coastal bridges. For bridge superstructures, hurricane-induced surge and wave loads can lead to bridge deck unseating, which has been identified as the most common failure mode for coastal bridges under hurricanes. This paper proposes a novel method for life-cycle risk assessment of coastal bridges under this hazard. The proposed method considers both capacity deterioration of unseating-resistant systems (e.g. connection dowels) and the reoccurrence of hurricanes in the service life of bridges. Renewal theory is leveraged to consider repairs after deck unseating failure. A prestressed concrete box-girder span is used to illustrate the proposed method. Based on the assessment, it is found that non-deteriorating unseating-resistant systems can significantly reduce the life-cycle risk of bridge unseating.
