Topography-induced Spatial Variability In The Seismic Analysis Of Long-span Arch Bridges: A Systematic Review

Abstract

Long-span Arch Bridges Are Frequently Selected For Deep Valleys And Canyon Crossings, Yet The Same Topography That Makes The Structural Form Attractive Can Substantially Modify Earthquake Input At The Foundations. This Review Synthesizes Research On The Influence Of Canyon, Valley, Ridge, Slope, Basin, And Local Geological Conditions On The Seismic Analysis Of Steel, Reinforced-concrete, And Concrete-filled Steel-tube Arch Bridges. A Systematic Structured-review Protocol Was Applied To Literature Indexed In Major Engineering Databases And Publisher Platforms, Prioritizing Peer-reviewed Work From 2020–2026 While Retaining Foundational Studies On Spatially Varying Ground Motion, Wave Passage, Coherency Loss, Local-site Effects, And Multi-support Excitation. Thirty-five Studies Were Included After Duplicate Removal, Relevance Screening, Full-text Assessment, And Quality Appraisal. The Reviewed Evidence Shows That Topography Affects Not Only Peak Acceleration But Also Phase, Duration, Frequency Content, Vertical Motion, Incidence-angle Sensitivity, And Support-to-support Differential Displacement. Consequently, Synchronous Uniform Excitation Can Underestimate Critical Demands, Particularly Arch-foot Axial Force And Bending, Bearing Displacement, Pier Response, Deck Torsion, Pounding Potential, And Soil-foundation Interaction. Recent Bridge-specific Investigations Reported An Average 18.69% Rise In Arch-base Internal Force Under Nonuniform Near-fault Input, While Physics-based Simulations Of A Mountain Earthquake Indicated Period-dependent Peak-ground-velocity Amplification Approaching 50% Near 1–2 S. Advanced Practice Increasingly Combines Three-dimensional Wave Propagation, Finite-element Bridge-soil Models, Nonlinear Response-history Analysis, Fragility Surfaces, Uncertainty Propagation, And Mitigation Devices Such As Friction-pendulum Bearings, Stayed Cables, And Viscous Dampers. However, Research Remains Fragmented Because Recorded Multi-station Canyon Motions Are Scarce, Topographic Geometry And Soil Stratigraphy Are Often Idealized, Vertical And Rotational Inputs Are Inconsistently Treated, And Few Studies Couple Physics-based Hazard Simulation With System-level Bridge Fragility. The Review Proposes A Unified Analysis Taxonomy And Identifies Priorities For Site-specific Input Generation, Validated Soil-structure Interaction, Component Damage Modelling, And Performance-based Design Of Arch Bridges In Mountainous Terrain.

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