Probabilistic sensitivity analysis of two suspension bridges in Istanbul, Turkey to near- and far-fault ground motion

Abstract. The aim of this paper is to compare the near-fault and far-fault ground motion effects on the probabilistic sensitivity dynamic responses of two suspension bridges in Istanbul. Two different types of suspension bridges are selected to investigate the near-fault (NF) and far-fault (FF) ground motion effects on the bridge sensitivity responses. NF and FF strong ground motion records, which have approximately identical peak ground accelerations, of the Kocaeli (1999) earthquake are selected for the analyses. Displacements and internal forces are determined using the probabilistic sensitivity method (PSM), which is one type of stochastic finite element method. The efficiency and accuracy of the proposed algorithm are validated by comparison with results of the Monte Carlo Simulation (MCS) method. The displacements and internal forces obtained from the analyses of suspension bridges subjected to each fault effect are compared with each other. It is clearly seen that there is more seismic demand on displacements and internal forces when suspension bridges are subjected to NF and FF ground motion.