Three-dimensional response of a bridge structure subjected to traveling Rayleigh waves, SV-waves, and P-waves

Results are reported of a research program which investigated the three dimensional response of structures to spatially varying seismic excitations. A methodology was developed to analyze the three dimensional response of a single span bridge on an elastic half space subjected to traveling Rayleigh waves, SV-waves, and P-waves with arbitrary excitation frequencies and angles of incidence. These analyses show how the bridge response is influenced by each of the various types of seismic waves that propagate through an elastic half space. Results from bridge analyses demonstrate that nonvertically incident seismic waves induce resonant responses that are different from those induced by vertically incident seismic waves.