Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
Engineering Failure Analysis, cilt.184, 2026 (SCI-Expanded, Scopus)
Multi-span masonry railway bridges are vital components of railway infrastructure, integrating historical value with structural utility. This study investigates the curved multi-span masonry bridge located at Km 1252 + 731 in Horasan (Erzurum, Türkiye), which was subjected to the 1983 M6.8 Horasan earthquake and has since exhibited progressive deterioration under train loads. The bridge combines traditional and modern materials, with four masonry arches at its center and two reinforced concrete slabs at the edges. Progressive structural damage has been observed, particularly in the form of separation and sliding at the masonry joints near the arch-pier support on the southern side and at the northern abutment of the rigid reinforced concrete deck. A detailed three-dimensional nonlinear finite-element model was developed in ANSYS to examine the interaction between the masonry arches and reinforced-concrete deck, explicitly considering the influence of prior seismic actions on current dynamic behavior. Analyses indicate that curvature-induced centrifugal forces, stiffness incompatibility between masonry and concrete components, and cumulative fatigue from repeated axle loads govern the response. Quantitatively, the bridge shows asymmetric base shear strength capacities of 0.44g in the inward and 0.35g in the outward curvature directions with ultimate drift ratio of ∼ 0.01. The proposed framework successfully captures train-induced dynamic response while accounting for seismic history, providing a validated methodology for assessing and preserving historical masonry railway bridges.