A simplified procedure for seismic vulnerability assessment of railway masonry arch bridges

In this work a comprehensive parametric study was carried out to assess the seismic capacity of masonry arch bridges by limit analysis. The kinematic method was applied to evaluate structural capacity under horizontal seismic forces which may affect the structure in longitudinal and transverse direction and activate local or overall collapse mechanisms. Horizontal accelerations triggering the collapse mechanism were calculated, and iso-acceleration envelope curves, representing the limit acceleration of the bridge as a function of simple geometric parameters, were derived. These graphs supply a direct tabular procedure for preliminary seismic assessment of single-and multi-span masonry bridges.