Nondestructive Damage Evaluation of Viscous Dampers, Lead Rubber Bearings and Friction Pendulum Bearings

Seismic response modification devices (SRMD), are structural elements whose purpose is to mitigate bridge damage. Although much effort has been devoted to the design and installation of these devices, maintenance problems continue to exist. Inspection and removal is expensive, and may lead to significant traffic disruption. The development of a nondestructive evaluation system could lower maintenance costs and minimize the impact to the traveling public. In this work, nondestructive evaluation will focus on identifying the stiffness and damping properties of the structure and SRMD, and then use existing design standards to evaluate the structure.