Nat Hazards (2012) 64:593–614

DOI 10.1007/s11069-012-0259-5

ORIGINAL PAPER

Comparison of near-fault and far-fault ground motion

effects on geometrically nonlinear earthquake behavior
of suspension bridges

Süleyman Adanur • Ahmet Can Altunişik • Alemdar Bayraktar •

Mehmet Akköse

Received: 8 June 2009 / Accepted: 14 June 2012 / Published online: 27 June 2012
Ó Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2012

Abstract This paper presents a comparison of near-fault and far-fault ground motion
effects on geometrically nonlinear earthquake behavior of suspension bridges. Boğaziçi
(The First Bosporus) and Fatih Sultan Mehmet (Second Bosporus) suspension bridges built
in Istanbul, Turkey, are selected as numerical examples. Both bridges have almost the
same span. While Boğaziçi Suspension Bridge has inclined hangers, Fatih Sultan Mehmet
Suspension Bridge has vertical hangers. Geometric nonlinearity including P-delta effects
from self-weight of the bridges is taken into account in the determination of the dynamic
behavior of the suspension bridges for near-fault and far-fault ground motions. Near-fault
and far-fault strong ground motion records, which have approximately identical peak
ground accelerations, of 1999 Chi-Chi, 1999 Kocaeli, and 1979 Imperial Valley earth-
quakes are selected for the analyses. Displacements and internal forces of the bridges are
determined using the finite element method including geometric nonlinearity. The dis-
placements and internal forces obtained from the dynamic analyses of suspension bridges
subjected to each fault effect are compared with each other. It is clearly seen that near-fault
ground motions are more effective than far-fault ground motion on the displacements and
internal forces such as bending moment, shear force and axial forces of the suspension
bridges.

Keywords Suspension bridge
Far-fault ground motion
Near-fault ground motion

Geometric nonlinearity
Nonlinear earthquake behavior
P-delta effect

S. Adanur
A. C. Altunişik (&)
A. Bayraktar
M. Akköse

Department of Civil Engineering, Karadeniz Technical University, 61080 Trabzon, Turkey
e-mail: ahmetcan8284@[Link]
S. Adanur
e-mail: sadanur@[Link]
A. Bayraktar
e-mail: alemdar@[Link]
M. Akköse
e-mail: akkose@[Link]

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1 Introduction

Near-fault ground motions recorded in recent major earthquakes (1999 Taiwan Chi-Chi,
1989 Loma Prieta, 1994 US Northridge, and 1995 Japan Hyogoken-Nanbu) are charac-
terized by a ground motion with large velocity pulse, which exposes the structures to high
input energy in the beginning of the earthquake. Comparison of the near-fault strong
ground motion velocities with far-fault strong ground motions is shown in Fig. 1 (Akkar
et al. 2005). These pulses are strongly influenced by the orientation of the fault, the
direction of slip on the fault, and the location of the recording station relative to the fault
which is termed as ‘directivity effect’ due to the propagation of the rupture toward the
recording site (Archuleta and Hartzell 1981; Megawati et al. 2001; Agrawal and He 2002;
Wang et al. 2002; Somerville 2003; Bray and Marek 2004; Pulido and Kubo 2004; Akkar
et al. 2005).
The effects of near-fault ground motion on many civil engineering structures such as
buildings, tunnels, dams, bridges, nuclear station have been investigated in many recent
studies (Hall et al. 1995; Malhotra 1999; Ohmachi and Jalali 1999; Chopra and Chin-
tanapakdee 2001; Rao and Jangid 2001; Liao et al. 2004; Corigliano et al. 2006; Galal and
Ghobarah 2006; Ghahari et al. 2006; Dicleli and Buddaram 2007; Bayraktar et al. 2008). It
can be clearly seen from these studies that the importance of near-fault ground motion
effect on the response of the structures has been highlighted.
There are many studies about the dynamic responses of suspension bridges under the
uniform or nonuniform earthquake ground motions using deterministic or stochastic
methods in the literature (Abdel-Ghaffar 1976, 1980; Abdel-Ghaffar and Rubin 1982,
1983a, b, Abdel-Ghaffar and Stringfellow 1984; Dumanoğlu and Severn 1987, 1989, 1990;
Dumanoğlu et al. 1992; Hyun et al. 1992; Nakamura et al. 1993; Brownjohn 1994;
Harichandran et al. 1996; Rassem et al. 1996; Wang et al. 1999; Zhang et al. 2005).
However, there is not sufficient research about the effects of near-fault ground motions on
dynamic responses of suspension bridges.
Suspension bridges consist of elements like tower, cable, hanger and deck; the behavior
of each one is different. Under the effect of external forces and self-weight of the bridge,
especially cables and hangers are subjected to large tension forces, which have consid-
erable influence on the element stiffness matrices. This characteristic is called as geometric
nonlinearity of the structural elements and should be taken into account in the analysis of
suspension bridges.
The main objective of this paper is to determine and compare the earthquake behavior
of suspension bridge subjected to near-fault and far-fault ground motions considering
geometric nonlinearity. For this purpose, Boğaziçi (The First Bosporus) suspension bridge

Fig. 1 The time-histories of strong ground motion velocities (Akkar et al. 2005). a Near-fault strong ground
motion. b Far-fault strong ground motion

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with inclined hangers and Fatih Sultan Mehmet (Second Bosporus) suspension bridge with
vertical hangers are utilized. The 1999 Chi-Chi, 1999 Kocaeli, and 1979 Imperial Valley
earthquake records are selected to represent the near-fault ground motion characteristics. In
this study, the term ‘‘near-fault ground motion’’ is referred to the ground motion record
obtained in the vicinity of a fault with apparent velocity pulse (pulse duration larger than
1.0 s), the distance of the fault of the ground motion record less than 10 km, and the peak
ground velocity/peak ground acceleration (PGV/PGA) value which is larger than 0.1 s.
The far-fault ground motions recorded at the same site at abovementioned earthquakes
used to compare with near-fault ground motions.

2 Near-fault and far-fault ground motions

In this study, near-fault ground motion records are selected as an input ground motion from
1999 Chi-Chi, 1999 Kocaeli, and 1979 Imperial Valley earthquakes. These records are
taken from station numbers TCU060, IZT180, and H-BRA225, respectively. In addition,
another set of earthquake records, which recorded at the same site conditions from the
same earthquakes events with epicenter far away from the site, is selected to illustrate far-
fault ground motion characteristics. PGA and PGV, surface projection distances from the
site to the fault, and PGV/PGA values are given in Table 1. The ground motion records are
obtained from the PEER Strong Motion Database (PEER 2008). The database has infor-
mation on the site conditions and the soil type for the instrument locations.
It is aimed to obtain two ground motion records with same peak acceleration values of
each earthquake (1999 Chi-Chi, 1999 Kocaeli, and 1979 Imperial Valley) to compare the
results more accurately. So, more attention was paid to the selection of records. If the
ground motion records of each earthquake are selected randomly (different peak accel-
eration values), it cannot be said directly that near-fault ground motion has remarkable
effects on the geometric nonlinear earthquake response of suspension bridges. So, it is
aimed to eliminate this contradiction by selected ground motion records with same peak
acceleration values.
The acceleration, velocity, and response spectra time-histories of the horizontal com-
ponent of the near-fault and far-fault ground motions obtained from all earthquakes are
shown in Figs. 2, 3, and 4, respectively. These figures show that the velocity pulses of the
near-fault ground motions are significantly different as compared to the far-fault ground
motions. The near-fault ground motions have significantly long-period velocity pulse.
The horizontal or longitudinal components of ground motions are important for an
earthquake response analysis of many types of structures. For long-span bridges, however,

Table 1 Properties of selected near-fault and far-fault ground motion records

Ground Earthquake Station PGA PGV PGV/PGA (s) Mw Distance
motion (m/s2) (cm/s) to fault (km)

Near fault Chi-Chi TCU060 0.20g 36.3 0.18 7.6 9.50

Far fault Chi-Chi ILA067 0.20g 11.8 0.06 7.6 48.68
Near fault Kocaeli IZT180 0.15g 22.6 0.15 7.8 4.80
Far fault Kocaeli FAT090 0.16g 0.09 0.06 7.8 64.50
Near fault Imperial Valley H-BRA225 0.16g 35.9 0.22 6.9 8.50
Far fault Imperial Valley H-CMP285 0.15g 9.5 0.06 6.9 32.60

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Fig. 2 Near-fault and far-fault ground motions recorded at 1999 Chi-Chi earthquake. a Acceleration time-
histories for near-fault and far-fault ground motions. b Velocity time-histories for near-fault and far-fault
ground motions. c Response spectra for near-fault and far-fault ground motions

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Nat Hazards (2012) 64:593–614 597

Fig. 3 Near-fault and far-fault ground motions recorded at 1999 Kocaeli earthquake. a Acceleration time-
histories for near-fault and far-fault ground motions. b Velocity time-histories for near-fault and far-fault
ground motions. c Response spectra for near-fault and far-fault ground motions

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Fig. 4 Near-fault and far-fault ground motions recorded at 1979 Imperial Valley earthquake. a Acceleration
time-histories for near-fault and far-fault ground motions. b Velocity time-histories for near-fault and far-
fault ground motions. c Response spectra for near-fault and far-fault ground motions

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Nat Hazards (2012) 64:593–614 599

vertical component of the ground motion is more important than lateral (longitudinal and
transverse) components. Therefore, in this study, selected ground motion records are
applied to only vertical direction, and lateral (longitudinal and transverse) motions are
ignored (Abdel-Ghaffar and Stringfellow 1984; Dumanoğlu and Severn 1987, 1989).

3 Numerical examples

This study is focused on the determination and comparison of near-fault and far-fault
strong ground motion effects on the geometrically nonlinear earthquake response of sus-
pension bridges. Because of self-weight of suspension bridges, they have large displace-
ments. These displacements cause geometric nonlinear behavior of suspension bridges.
P-delta effect has significant effect on the numerical result for the present structural sys-
tems (Adanur 2003; Altunışık et al. 2006). The geometric nonlinearity due to self-weight
of the bridges is taken into account, including the P-delta effects in the nonlinear dynamic
analyses. 2D finite element models of the suspension bridges are prepared using the
software SAP2000 (SAP2000 1998). The dimensional and material properties of the
structural elements are selected by project drawings and calculation reports (Freeman et al.
1968; Brown and Parsons 1975). In this paper, the program is used to determine the
dynamic characteristics and geometrically nonlinear behavior of bridges based on their
physical and mechanical properties. Finite element models of the Boğaziçi and Fatih
Sultan Mehmet suspension bridges have three degrees of freedom at each nodal point,
namely two translational degrees of freedom in vertical and longitudinal axes and one
rotational degree of freedom in lateral axis. As the deck, towers and cables are represented
by beam elements, the hangers are represented by truss elements in the both bridges. The
fact that this 2D model has relatively small number of degrees of freedom makes it more
attractive by saving on computer time. Obviously, if actual design values for the responses
are desired, 3D model should be taken into account. Although 2D bridge model includes
some simplifications, it has been extensively used in the literature and has been shown to
capture the dynamic behavior of 3D model. It was verified that 2D analysis provides
natural frequencies and mode shapes which are in close agreement with those obtained by
3D analysis in the vertical direction for suspension bridges (Dumanoğlu and Severn 1985;
Adanur 2003; Altunışık et al. 2006). Therefore, it is believed that the results based on the
2D analyses are representative of the actual 3D long-span bridge structures.
It is generally expected that finite element models based on technical design data and
engineering judgments can yield reliable simulation for both the static and dynamic
behaviors of suspension bridges. However, because of modeling uncertainties such as
stiffness of supports and nonstructural elements, material properties and so on as well as
inevitable differences between the properties of the designed and as-built structure, these
finite element models often cannot predict natural frequencies and mode shapes with the
required level of accuracy. This raises the need for verification of the finite element models
of suspension bridges after their construction. For this purpose, modal testing is nowadays
used commonly. The aim of modal testing is to determine as-built natural frequencies,
mode shapes, and damping ratios. These are especially important when they are required to
further study the behavior of suspension bridges.
There are two basically different methods available to experimentally identify the
dynamic system parameters of a structure (of any kind, including suspension bridges):
Experimental Modal Analysis and Operational Modal Analysis. In the Experimental Modal
Analysis, the structure is excited by known input force (such as impulse hammers, drop

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Table 2 The first 15 modal fre-

Mode number Frequency (Hz)
quencies of the considered
bridges First Bosporus Second Bosporus
bridge bridge

1 0.121 0.120
2 0.161 0.154
3 0.220 0.208
4 0.277 0.240
5 0.365 0.314
6 0.449 0.388
7 0.554 0.474
8 0.574 0.538
9 0.661 0.566
10 0.771 0.669
11 0.896 0.780
12 1.026 0.902
13 1.032 1.034
14 1.036 1.176
15 1.174 1.226

weights and electrodynamics shakers) and response of the structure is measured. In the
Operational Modal Analysis, the structure is excited by unknown input force (ambient
vibrations such as traffic load, wind and wave) and response of the structure is measured.
Some heavy forced excitations become very expensive and sometimes may cause the
possible damage to the structure. But ambient excitations such as traffic, wave, wind,
earthquake and their combination are environmental or natural excitations. Therefore, the
system identification techniques through ambient vibration measurements become very
attractive. In this case, only response data of ambient vibrations are measurable while
actual loading conditions are unknown. A system identification procedure will therefore
need to base itself on output-only data. Ambient vibration tests using Operational Modal
Analyses method were conducted on Boğaziçi and Fatih Sultan Mehmet Suspension
Bridges to validate the finite element models (Dumanoğlu et al. 1989; Brownjohn et al.
1992).
Suspension bridges are not structurally homogeneous as building and dams. It was
concluded from previous studies that the tower, deck, and cables affect the structural
response in a wide range of modes (Dumanoğlu and Severn 1987). The number of modes
plays a very important role in obtaining the acceptable results. Therefore, the first 15
modes of vibration and a 2 % of damping coefficient are adopted for the response cal-
culations. The modal frequencies of the first fifteen modes of the bridges used in this study
are given in Table 2. As can be seen from Table 2, the low modes of the both bridges have
very low frequencies and are very closely spaces.

3.1 Earthquake response of Boğaziçi (First Bosporus) suspension bridge

The Boğaziçi (First Bosporus) suspension bridge (Fig. 5) ([Link]

bogazici_koprusu.htm) connecting the Europe and Asia Continents in Istanbul, Turkey, is a
1,560 m long with a main span of 1,074 m and side spans of 231 and 255 m on the

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Fig. 5 Picture of Boğaziçi (First Bosporus) Suspension Bridge ([Link]

[Link])

European and the Asian sides, respectively, without any side spans supported by cables.
The decks of the side spans at the bridge are supported on the ground by piers. The bridge
has flexible steel towers of 165 m high, inclined hangers and a steel box-deck. The hor-
izontal distance between the cables is 28 m and the roadway is 21 m wide, accommodating
three lanes each way. The roadway at the mid-span of the bridge is approximately 64 m
above the sea level.
The 2D finite element model of the bridge with 202 nodal points, 199 beam elements
and 118 truss elements is considered for the analyses. The selected finite element model of
the bridge is represented by 475 degrees of freedom (Fig. 6). The material and section
properties of the elements used in the finite element model are given in Table 3.

3.1.1 Tower responses

Time-histories of horizontal displacements at the top point of European side tower of

Boğaziçi suspension bridge obtained from nonlinear analysis for near-fault and far-fault

Fig. 6 2D finite element model of Boğaziçi (First Bosporus) suspension bridge subjected to vertical ground
motions

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Table 3 Material and section properties of the elements of Boğaziçi Bridge

Elements Material properties

Modulus of elasticity Poisson’s ratio Section areas Inertia moment

(kN/m2) (–) (m2) (m4)

Towers 2.05E8 0.30 1.360 9.0000

Deck 2.05E8 0.30 0.851 1.2380
Main cable 1.93E8 0.30 0.410 0.0133
Side span cable 1.93E8 0.30 0.438 0.0153
Hanger 1.62E8 0.30 0.0042 –

ground motions of 1999 Chi-Chi, 1999 Kocaeli, and 1979 Imperial Valley earthquakes are
presented in Fig. 7. The maximum displacements on the tower occurred as 3.40–1.80 cm,
2.20–0.95 cm, and 5.50–1.02 cm for near-fault and far-fault ground motions, respectively.
Figure 7 shows that maximum displacements occurred due to near-fault ground motions.
Variation in maximum horizontal displacements with height of European side tower for
1999 Chi-Chi, 1999 Kocaeli, and 1979 Imperial Valley earthquake ground motions is
shown in Fig. 8. It can be seen from Fig. 8 that the horizontal displacements increase along
the height of the tower and that those corresponding to near-fault ground motion are the
highest.
Figure 9 points out the maximum internal forces such as bending moment, shear forces,
and axial forces of the European side tower corresponding to the considering earthquake
ground motions. It can be seen from Fig. 9 that all internal forces are the highest for the
near-fault ground motions. Maximum bending moments occurred at the base of the tower
for both near-fault and far-fault ground motions. The axial forces are nearly equal along the
height of the tower, but the values of the shear forces are variable and maximum values
come into being at the base of the tower.

3.1.2 Deck responses

The time-histories of vertical displacements at the middle point of the deck for both near-
fault and far-fault ground motions of 1999 Chi-Chi, 1999 Kocaeli, and 1979 Imperial
Valley earthquakes are presented in Fig. 10. The maximum displacements on the deck
occurred as 56.1–31.9 cm, 31.2–12.0 cm, and 73.70–16.7 cm for near-fault and far-fault
ground motions, respectively. Figure 10 shows that near-fault ground motions have effect
on the deck displacements.
Variation in maximum displacements and bending moments along the deck for 1999
Chi-Chi, 1999 Kocaeli, and 1979 Imperial Valley earthquake ground motions is shown in
Fig. 11. It can be seen from Fig. 11 that both maximum displacement and maximum
bending moment values are obtained from the near-fault ground motion.

3.2 Earthquake response of Fatih Sultan Mehmet (Second Bosporus) suspension bridge

The Fatih Sultan Mehmet (Second Bosporus) suspension bridge (Fig. 12) ([Link]
[Link]/portfoy/fatih_koprusu.htm) also connecting the Europe and Asia Continents in
Istanbul, Turkey, has a box girder deck with 39.4 m wide overall and 1,090 m long. There
are no side spans and the steel towers rise 110 m above the ground level. The hangers are

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Nat Hazards (2012) 64:593–614 603

(a) Near-fault Far-fault

4 4
Displacement (cm)

Displacement (cm)
2 2

0 0

-2 -2

Max=3.4 (cm) Max=1.8 (cm)

-4 -4
0 20 40 60 80 100 0 20 40 60 80 100
Time (s) Time (s)

(b) 3
Displacement (cm) 3

2
Displacement (cm)

0 0

-2 -2

Max=2.2 (cm) Max=0.95 (cm)

-3 -3
0 10 20 30 0 20 40 60 80
Time (s) Time (s)
(c) 6 6
Displacement (cm)

3
Displacement (cm)

0 0

-3 -3

Max=5.5 (cm) Max=1.02 (cm)

-6 -6
0 20 40 0 20 40
Time (s) Time (s)

Fig. 7 Time-histories of horizontal displacements at the top of the European side tower of Boğaziçi
suspension bridge. a Time-histories of horizontal displacements for 1999 Chi-Chi earthquake. b Time-
histories of horizontal displacements for 1999 Kocaeli earthquake. c Time-histories of horizontal
displacements for 1979 Imperial Valley earthquake

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Near-Fault Far-Fault

(a) 200 (b) 200 (c) 200

150 150 150

Height (m)

Height (m)

Height (m)
100 100 100

50 50 50

0 0 0
0 2 4 6 0 2 4 6 0 2 4 6
Displacement (cm) Displacement (cm) Displacement (cm)

Fig. 8 Maximum horizontal displacements along the height of European side tower of Boğaziçi suspension
bridge. a 1999 Chi-Chi, b 1999 Kocaeli, c 1979 Imperial Valley

Near-Fault Far-Fault
(a) 200 200 200
Tower height (m)

Tower height (m)

Tower height (m)

150 150 150

100 100 100

50 50 50

0 0 0
0 5000 10000 15000 0 5000 10000 15000 0 5000 10000 15000
Bending moment (kNm) Bending moment (kNm) Bending moment (kNm)
1999 Chi-Chi 1999 Kocaeli 1979 Imperial Valley
(b) 200 200 200
Tower height (m)

Tower height (m)

Tower height (m)

150 150 150

100 100 100

50 50 50

0 0 0
0 50 100 150 200 0 50 100 150 200 0 50 100 150 200
Shear force (kN) Shear force (kN) Shear force (kN)
1999 Chi-Chi 1999 Kocaeli 1979 Imperial Valley
(c) 200 200 200
Tower height (m)

Tower height (m)

Tower height (m)

150 150 150

100 100 100

50 50 50

0 0 0
0 5000 10000 15000 0 5000 10000 15000 0 5000 10000 15000
Axial force (kN) Axial force (kN) Axial force (kN)
1999 Chi-Chi 1999 Kocaeli 1979 Imperial Valley

Fig. 9 Maximum bending moments (a), shear forces (b), and axial forces (c) at the European side tower of
Boğaziçi suspension bridge

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Nat Hazards (2012) 64:593–614 605

Near-fault Far-fault
(a) 60 60

Displacement (cm)
30
Displacement (cm)

30

0 0

-30 -30

Max=56.1 (cm) Max=31.9 (cm)

-60 -60
0 20 40 60 80 100 0 20 40 60 80 100
Time (s) Time (s)
(b) 40 40
Displacement (cm)

Displacement (cm)

20 20

0 0

-20 -20

Max=31.2 (cm) Max=12.0 (cm)

-40 -40
0 10 20 30 0 20 40 60 80
Time (s) Time (s)

(c) 80 80
Displacement (cm)

Displacement (cm)

40 40

0 0

-40 -40

Max=73.7 (cm) Max=16.7 (cm)

-80 -80
0 10 20 30 40 0 10 20 30 40
Time (s) Time (s)

Fig. 10 Time-histories of vertical displacements on the deck of Boğaziçi suspension bridge. a Time-
histories of vertical displacements for 1999 Chi-Chi earthquake. b Time-histories of vertical displacements
for 1999 Kocaeli earthquake. c Time-histories of vertical displacements for 1979 Imperial Valley earthquake

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Near-Fault Far-Fault
(a)

Bending moment (kNm)

0 20000
Displacement (cm)

-20 15000

-40 10000

-60 5000

-80 0
-600 -400 -200 0 200 400 600 -600 -400 -200 0 200 400 600
Bridge Span (m) Bridge Span (m)
(b)

Bending moment (kNm)

0 20000
Displacement (cm)

-20 15000

-40 10000

-60 5000

-80 0
-600 -400 -200 0 200 400 600 -600 -400 -200 0 200 400 600
Bridge Span (m) Bridge Span (m)
(c)
Bending moment (kNm)

0 20000
Displacement (cm)

-20 15000

-40 10000

-60 5000

-80 0
-600 -400 -200 0 200 400 600 -600 -400 -200 0 200 400 600
Bridge Span (m) Bridge Span (m)

Fig. 11 Dynamic response values of Boğaziçi suspension bridge deck. a Displacement and bending
moment subjected to 1999 Chi-Chi earthquake. b Displacement and bending moment subjected to 1999
Kocaeli earthquake. c Displacement and bending moment subjected to 1979 Imperial Valley earthquake

vertical and connected to the deck and cable with singly hinged bearing. The horizontal
distance between the cables is 33.8 m and the roadway is 28 m wide, accommodating two
four-lane highways. The roadway at the mid-span of the bridge is approximately 64 m
above the sea level.
The 2D finite element model of the bridge with 144 nodal points, 142 beam elements,
60 truss elements is used in the analyses. The finite element model of the bridge has 418
degrees of freedom (Fig. 13). The material and section properties of the elements used in
the finite element model are given in Table 4.

3.2.1 Tower responses

Time-histories of horizontal displacements at the top point of European side tower of Fatih
Sultan Mehmet suspension bridge obtained from nonlinear analysis for near-fault and far-
fault ground motions of 1999 Chi-Chi, 1999 Kocaeli, and 1979 Imperial Valley earth-
quakes are presented in Fig. 14. The maximum displacements on the tower occurred as

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Fig. 12 Picture of Fatih Sultan Mehmet (Second Bosporus) Suspension Bridge ([Link]
fatih_koprusu.htm)

Fig. 13 2D finite element model of Fatih Sultan Mehmet (Second Bosporus) suspension bridges subjected
to vertical ground motions

Table 4 Material and section properties of the elements of Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge
Element Material properties

Modulus of elasticity Poisson’s ratio Section areas Inertia moment

(kN/m2) (–) (m2) (m4)

Towers 2.05E8 0.30 2.68 6.4100

Deck 2.05E8 0.30 1.26 1.7300
Main cable 1.93E8 0.30 0.7333 0.0428
Side span cable 1.93E8 0.30 0.7835 0.0488
Hanger 1.62E8 0.30 0.0181 –

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(a) Near-fault Far-fault

4 4
Displacement (cm)

Displacement (cm)
2 2

0 0

-2 -2

Max=3.2 (cm) Max=2.2 (cm)

-4 -4
0 20 40 60 80 100 0 20 40 60 80 100
Time (s) Time (s)
(b) 3 3
Displacement (cm)

Displacement (cm)

2 2

0 0

-2 -2

Max=1.8 (cm) Max=0.71 (cm)

-3 -3
0 10 20 30 0 20 40 60 80
Time (s) Time (s)
(c) 6 6
Displacement (cm)

Displacement (cm)

3 3

0 0

-3 -3

Max=5.0 (cm) Max=0.89 (cm)

-6 -6
0 20 40 0 20 40
Time (s) Time (s)

Fig. 14 Time-histories of horizontal displacements at the top of the European side tower of Fatih Sultan
Mehmet suspension bridge. a Time-histories of horizontal displacements for 1999 Chi-Chi earthquake.
b Time-histories of horizontal displacements for 1999 Kocaeli earthquake. c Time-histories of horizontal
displacements for 1979 Imperial Valley earthquake

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Nat Hazards (2012) 64:593–614 609

Near-Fault Far-Fault
(a) 150 (b) 150 (c) 150
Height (m)

Height (m)

Height (m)
100 100 100

50 50 50

0 0 0
0 1 2 3 4 5 0 1 2 3 4 5 0 1 2 3 4 5
Displacement (cm) Displacement (cm) Displacement (cm)

Fig. 15 Maximum horizontal displacements along the height of European side tower of Fatih Sultan
Mehmet suspension bridge. a 1999 Chi-Chi, b 1999 Kocaeli, c 1979 Imperial Valley

Near-Fault Far-Fault
(a) 150 150 150
Tower height (m)

Tower height (m)

Tower height (m)

100 100 100

50 50 50

0 0 0
0 10000 20000 0 10000 20000 0 10000 20000
Bending moment (kNm) Bending moment (kNm) Bending moment (kNm)
1999 Chi-Chi 1999 Kocaeli 1979 Imperial Valley

(b) 150 150 150

Tower height (m)

Tower height (m)

Tower height (m)

100 100 100

50 50 50

0 0 0
0 100 200 300 0 100 200 300 0 100 200 300
Shear force (kN) Shear force (kN) Shear force (kN)
1999 Chi-Chi 1999 Kocaeli 1979 Imperial Valley
(c) 150 150 150
Tower height (m)

Tower height (m)

Tower height (m)

100 100 100

50 50 50

0 0 0
0 12500 25000 0 12500 25000 0 12500 25000
Axial force (kN) Axial force (kN) Axial force (kN)
1999 Chi-Chi 1999 Kocaeli 1979 Imperial Valley

Fig. 16 Maximum bending moments (a), shear forces (b), and axial forces (c) at the European side tower of
Fatih Sultan Mehmet suspension bridge

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610 Nat Hazards (2012) 64:593–614

Near-fault Far-fault
(a) 60 60

30 30

Displacement (cm)
Displacement (cm)

0 0

-30 -30

Max=59.3 (cm) Max=35.6 (cm)

-60 -60
0 20 40 60 80 100 0 20 40 60 80 100
Time (s) Time (s)
(b) 40 40

20 20
Displacement (cm)

Displacement (cm)

0 0

-20 -20

Max=34.9 (cm) Max=13.2 (cm)

-40 -40
0 10 20 30 0 20 40 60 80
Time (s) Time (s)
(c) 100 100

50 50
Displacement (cm)
Displacement (cm)

0 0

-50 -50

Max=91.5 (cm) Max=15.2 (cm)

-100 -100
0 10 20 30 40 0 10 20 30 40
Time (s) Time (s)

Fig. 17 Time-histories of vertical displacements on deck of Fatih Sultan Mehmet suspension bridge.
a Time-histories of vertical displacements for 1999 Chi-Chi earthquake. b Time-histories of vertical
displacements for 1999 Kocaeli earthquake. c Time-histories of vertical displacements for 1979 Imperial
Valley earthquake

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Nat Hazards (2012) 64:593–614 611

(a) Near-Fault Far-Fault

Bending moment (kNm)

30000
Displacement (cm)

-20
20000
-40
10000
-60

-80 0
-600 -400 -200 0 200 400 600 -600 -400 -200 0 200 400 600
Bridge Span (m) Bridge Span (m)
(b)

Bending moment (kNm)

0 30000
Displacement (cm)

-20
20000
-40
10000
-60

-80 0
-600 -400 -200 0 200 400 600 -600 -400 -200 0 200 400 600
Bridge Span (m) Bridge Span (m)
(c)
Bending moment (kNm)

0 30000
Displacement (cm)

-20
20000
-40
-60
10000
-80
-100 0
-600 -400 -200 0 200 400 600 -600 -400 -200 0 200 400 600
Bridge Span (m) Bridge Span (m)

Fig. 18 Dynamic response values of Fatih Sultan Mehmet suspension bridge deck. a Displacement and
bending moment subjected to 1999 Chi-Chi earthquake. b Displacement and bending moment subjected to
1999 Kocaeli earthquake. c Displacement and bending moment subjected to 1979 Imperial Valley
earthquake

3.2–2.2 cm, 1.8–0.71 cm, and 5.0–0.89 cm for near-fault and far-fault ground motions,
respectively. Figure 14 shows that maximum displacements occurred due to near-fault
ground motions.
Variation in maximum horizontal displacements with height of European side tower for
1999 Chi-Chi, 1999 Kocaeli, and 1979 Imperial Valley earthquake ground motions is
shown in Fig. 15. It can be seen from Fig. 15 that the horizontal displacements increase
along the height of the tower and that those corresponding to near-fault ground motion are
the highest.
Figure 16 points out the maximum internal forces such as bending moment, shear
forces, and axial forces of the European side tower corresponding to all earthquake ground
motions. It can be seen from Fig. 16 that all internal forces are the highest for the near-fault
ground motion. The values of the axial forces are nearly equal along the height of the
tower, but the values of the shear forces are variable and maximum values come into being

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at the base of the tower. Also, maximum bending moments occurred at the base of the
tower for both near-fault and far-fault ground motion records.

3.2.2 Deck responses

The time-histories of vertical displacements at the middle point of the deck for both near-
fault and far-fault ground motions of 1999 Chi-Chi, 1999 Kocaeli, and 1979 Imperial
Valley earthquakes are presented in Fig. 17. The maximum displacements on the deck
occurred as 59.3–35.6 cm, 34.9–13.2 cm, and 91.5–15.2 cm for near-fault and far-fault
ground motions, respectively. Figure 17 shows that near-fault ground motions have effect
on the deck displacements.
Variation in displacements and bending moments along the deck for 1999 Chi-Chi,
1999 Kocaeli, and 1979 Imperial Valley earthquake ground motions is shown in Fig. 18. It
can be seen from Fig. 18 that both maximum displacements and maximum bending
moment values occurred under the near-fault ground motion records.

4 Conclusions

This paper presents a comparison of near-fault and far-fault ground motion effects on
geometrically nonlinear earthquake behavior of suspension bridges. Boğaziçi (The First
Bosporus) and Fatih Sultan Mehmet (Second Bosporus) suspension bridges built in
Istanbul, Turkey, are selected as numerical examples. Geometric nonlinearity including
P-delta effects from self-weight of the bridges is considered in the determination of the
dynamic behavior of the suspension bridges for near-fault and far-fault ground motions.
While displacements along the height of the tower have an increasing trend, bending
moments have a decreasing trend for both suspension bridges. In addition to these, axial
forces are nearly constant along the tower, but shear forces values are variable. Along the
suspension deck, maximum bending moments occurred at the middle point of the deck but
maximum displacements are variable for Boğaziçi and Fatih Sultan Mehmet suspension
bridges.
The performed geometric nonlinear analyses showed that near-fault ground motion is
rather effective on the displacements and internal forces in the suspension bridges. The
maximum displacements and maximum internal forces from the suspension bridges
obtained for near-fault ground motion are effective than those for far-fault ground motion.
It should be clarified that the near-fault ground motion effects appear along the duration of
earthquake. It is also seen that maximum displacements and internal forces have not
occurred when near-fault ground motions have peak acceleration value.
According to this study, near-fault earthquake ground motion has remarkable effects on
the geometric nonlinear response of suspension bridges. In the next studies related to
earthquake responses of engineering structures such as suspension bridges, near-fault
ground motion effects should be taken into account to obtain more realistic results.

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