Engineering Structures, cilt.312, ss.1-12, 2024 (SCI-Expanded)
Irregular plan geometries and soil-abutment-structure interaction, as well as the torsional components of ground
motions (TGMs) are significant contributing factors that result in excessive torsional demand during seismic
events that may lead to premature and asymmetric failure of shear keys. Therefore, a design method that ensures
the effectiveness of shear keys in mitigating the seismic response of highway bridges is proposed. The proposed
method follows the conventional approach to capacity-protect the substructure components, however, formalizes
a practical procedure to specify desired deformation limits associated with i) gap size between the superstructure
and shear keys, and ii) ultimate deformation capacity of shear keys. The efficacy of the method is demonstrated
through nonlinear response history analyses of a series of example bridges. It is demonstrated that excessive inplane deck rotations and the extent of damage can be limited when the effectiveness of shear keys is maintained
throughout the duration of seismic excitation. Furthermore, probable deck unseating may be prevented when the
deck displacements are restrained due to shear keys that are designed to remain intact.