Full 3D nonlinear time history analysis of dynamic soil–structure interaction for a historical masonry arch bridge

Historical masonry arch bridges, which represent the richness of cultural heritage of the country (Anatolia, Turkey), should be protected against detrimental effects and transferred well to next generations with a thorough effort given for the accurate estimations under the seismic responses affected by the nonlinear soil and structural characteristics. In this viewpoint, a relatively comprehensive method, full 3D nonlinear time history analysis of soil–structure interaction (SSI) (using direct method of configuration), has been employed in this work through the understanding of SSI effect well specifically investigated for a historical masonry stone arch bridge (Mataracı Bridge, Trabzon). For this purpose, the SSI model of bridge–substructure soil was built with the finite elements in 3D using the solid element, and then figured out in detail based on the results of seismic responses due to earthquake excitation. It is found from the results that in comparison with the fixed base solution, the influence of SSI becomes relatively prominent on the responses of displacement, acceleration, rotation, frequency (at lower modes of vibration), modal shapes, base shear, and overturning moment, while the stresses almost remain unchanged. The effort given in this study could be beneficial for other historical structures in the country for accurate estimations of the responses when seismically considered.