This research implements the first Houston/Galveston area hurricane risk assessment of bridges for multiple failure modes: bridge deck uplift and bridge scour. Due to recent hurricane damage of bridges, emergency managers need to understand the potential state of the bridge network immediately following a storm for effective mitigation and post-event planning. To that end, this study builds a new database of bridge information necessary for vulnerability modeling, adapts current deterministic models of bridge deck uplift and scour for a probabilistic framework and expands the scour models to include a qualitative estimate for embankment scour. The study area bridges are tested under various hurricane scenario events to reveal the likelihood of damage. Potential applications include retrofit prioritization, real-time spatial damage modeling and better informed preparation. By understanding the risk hurricanes pose to the bridge system, emergency officials can better plan rescue and recovery efforts before a storm impacts the Texas coast.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:RICE/oai:scholarship.rice.edu:1911/70204 |
| Date | January 2012 |
| Contributors | Padgett, Jamie |
| Source Sets | Rice University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis, Text |
| Format | 185 p., application/pdf |
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