Importance of Taking Deformation of Substructure into Account for Bridge Design

Abstract

In Japan, conformity in the design of a bridge's superstructure and substructure has been realized by taking into account the correlation between the load and displacement of its foundation. This has enabled a rational seismic design to be achieved, but failure to take into account deformation of the foundation might invite a serious accident. The collapse of the Can Tho Bridge in Vietnam was caused by uneven settlement under the foundation of a bent supporting the concrete slab, which sank slightly during construction process due to the slab's step weights. In this paper, the author proposes a newly developed calculation method based on a revised Voigt Model for estimating the settlement of soft ground in the Mekong Delta.