Seismic vulnerability assessment of an existing Hungarian highway bridge using hazard compatible ground motions

Due to the lack of seismic design in the pre-Eurocode ages, bridges in Hungary may suffer significant damages in case of a considerable seismic event. Evaluation of the national bridge database shows that the most popular bridge type on highways is the prestressed concrete multi girder bridge. In a previous study, preliminary fragility analysis using artificial ground motions fit to standard acceleration spectra has been carried out showing the high vulnerability of piers to shear forces. Artificial ground motions do not possess the characteristics of a real earthquake, thus the reliability of the results can be questioned. A probabilistic seismic hazard analysis framework is established to calculate the seismic hazard and to predict the essential characteristics of possible earthquakes in Hungary. Additionally, a holistic record selection procedure is adopted to choose proper seismic load. Analysis of an example bridge shows that more rigorous seismic load determination procedures may lead to less conservative estimates of seismic risk and to increased reliability