Recorded acceleration responses of inverted Y-shaped towers in long span cable-stayed bridges during moderate earthquakes

Cable-stayed bridges have been constructed with different type of towers (pylons) in the World, namely H-shaped, A-shaped, inverted Y-shaped, single column, diamond-shaped. More than half of the cable-stayed bridges utilised the towers with inclined legs. The dynamic response of inclined tower legs can be extremely complicated during earthquakes. Real earthquakes provide an excellent opportunity to gain insight into the performance of the towers. The present paper focuses on the real dynamic responses of inverted Y-shaped towers in long span cable-stayed bridges by using monitoring data recorded during moderate earthquakes. Nissibi cable-stayed bridge with two inverted Y-shaped towers constructed in Adıyaman, Turkey is selected for the application. Samsat (Adıyaman) earthquake with magnitude 5.5 (Mw) occurred near the bridge site. The dynamic responses of the bridge towers during the earthquake have been recorded using 3 D accelerometers. Vertical and horizontal spatial variations of the acceleration responses recorded during the earthquake at the foundation, deck and top levels of the two towers in longitudinal, transverse and vertical directions are evaluated and compared with each other. Significantly acceleration amplifications along the height of the towers and arrival time delays between the tower foundations are observed on the selected cable-stayed bridge.