Seismic design of highway bridges has improved as a result of the experience gained from large earthquakes of the last thirty years. Ductility demand and reserved capacity are extremely important response measures used in new bridge designs to assess target damage levels. However, the application of practical design approaches specified in bridge design codes is not well-defined for bridges over flexible foundations. Within the scope of this research, thirty two bridge models having varying column aspect ratio, amount of column longitudinal reinforcement and foundation flexibility parameters are investigated through a series of analyses such as response spectrum analysis and inelastic time-history analysis under &ldquo / safety evaluation earthquake&rdquo / hazard level with a return period of 1000 years, and push-over analysis. Using the results of analyses, seismic response of the investigated bridges are identified with several measures such as displacement capacity over demand ratio, global displacement ductility demand, and response modification factor, along with maximum concrete and steel strains of columns. A correlation between concrete and steel strains and seismic response measure values is constructed to estimate damage levels with commonly used response measures. The findings of this research revealed that global displacement ductility demand is not a favorable response measure for assessing damage levels. On the other hand, displacement capacity over demand ratios can be suggested for estimation of damage levels especially where foundation flexibility effects are extensive as system yielding is not taken into consideration.

<p>This thesis reports on shake table tests on fully-grouted reinforced masonry (RM) shear walls. The test walls covers a range of design parameters to facilitate benchmarking, a thorough performance investigation, and calibration of numerical models as well as development of fragility curves within the context of Performance Based Seismic Design (PBSD). The details of the experimental program undertaken, including general observations in terms of cracking patterns and failure modes of the tested walls and the results on the lateral strength, hysteretic response, dynamic properties, and the contribution of different displacement components to the response of the walls, are presented. More detailed analyses include seismic performance quantification of the walls in terms of inelastic behaviour characteristics, various energy components, and the effective dynamic properties of the tested walls. The analysis is concluded with development of simplified nonlinear response history analytical models and seismic fragility assessment tools for the tested walls. In general, the study results indicated that the displacement ductility capacity of the RM walls and their capability to dissipate energy through plastic hinging are higher than what is currently recognized by the National Building Code of Canada (NBCC). The fragility assessment study further indicated that similar walls are expected to conform to the current drift limits of the NBCC even at high seismic regions in Canada. The results of this study are expected to contribute to the growing Seismic Performance Database (SPD) of RM Seismic Force Resisting System (SFRS), and to the understanding of the lightly reinforced masonry wall system behaviour.</p> / Master of Applied Science (MASc)