Finite Element Simulation Study on Circular Concrete Bridge Piers Subjected to Vehicle Collision

Bridge piers collapse has been one of the potential hazards to human lives as well as economic loses. Numerous accident records show that bridge piers are vulnerable and produce a great threat due to accidental collision with heavy truck vehicles. Further study has suggested that the current code of assessment for bridge pier design has not taking into consideration of the implication of dynamic impact. The suitability of the code to reflect the exact collision condition of the pier is being reviewed. Thus, this research has been conducted to further investigate the effect of impact collision from the heavy truck vehicle to a bridge pier and subsequent consequences it may cause. Research is being carry out using finite element simulation, LS-DYNA and LS-PrePost, in order to conduct and analyze complex impact scenarios between the pier and the vehicle. The scope of this research is however, being narrowed down to only applying circular bridge pier designed as the object of impact and a verified model of Ford F800 Series 8-tons heavy truck as well as a HGV 16-ton Truck are used in the scenario. Different parameters will be further included to analyze the impact collision in depth details.