RC bridge substructures exposed to chloride environments inevitably suffer from corrosion of reinforcement embodied in concrete. This deterioration issue leads to the loss of reinforcement areas and a reduction in seismic capacity of reinforced concrete (RC) bridge substructures. To quantify the effect of steel corrosion on seismic fragility estimates, this paper proposes an improved time-dependent seismic fragility framework by taking into account the increase in the corrosion rate after concrete cracking and the reduction in seismic capacity of RC bridge substructures during the service life. Additionally, an analytical method based on a back propagation artificial neural network (BP-ANN) is proposed to provide probabilistic capacity estimates of deteriorating RC substructures. A three-span T-shaped girder bridge is selected as a case study bridge to provide improved time-dependent seismic fragility estimates that consider uncertainties in the material properties, geometric parameters, deterioration process and ground motions. The obtained fragility curves show that there is a nonlinear increase in the exceedance probability of deteriorating RC bridge substructures for different damage states during the service life. In addition, time-dependent seismic fragility analysis shows that the cases of considering only the effect of an increase in seismic demand or the reduction in seismic capacity as well as neither of them may lead to a significant underestimation of the seismic vulnerability of deteriorating RC bridge substructures.

The experiment study on the air-entrained concrete of 100 mm cubes under triaxial compression with different intermediate stress ratioα2=σ2D : σ3Dwas carried out using a hydraulic-servo testing system. The influence of rapid freeze-thaw cycles and intermediate stress ratio on the triaxial compressive strengthσ3Dwas analyzed according to the experimental results, respectively. The experimental results of air-entrained concrete obtained from the study in this paper and the triaxial compression experimental results of plain concrete got through the same triaxial-testing-system were compared and analyzed. The conclusion was that the triaxial compressive strength is greater than the biaxial and uniaxial compressive strength after the same rapid freeze-thaw cycles, and the increased percentage of triaxial compressive strength over biaxial compressive strength or uniaxial compressive strength is dependent on the middle stress. The experimental data is useful for precise analysis of concrete member or concrete structure under the action complex stress state.

The forms of U‐shaped UHPFRC beams have not been investigated for the highway footbridge. Compared with the traditional section forms, the U‐shaped UHPFRC beams can reduce the material consumption under the condition of providing the same bearing capacity. Furthermore, prestressed U‐shaped UHPFRC beams are rarely reported in the existing research. This paper explores the flexural behavior of prestressed ultrahigh‐performance fiber‐reinforced concrete (UHPFRC) beam bridge having unique design and the material properties of prestressed reinforcement combined with UHPFRC. Based on the unique shape of the U beam, the flexural performance test of the full‐scale model of the prestressed UHPFRC U beam is conducted. Then, the finite element model considering material nonlinearity and structural ductility is established using Midas FEA software. Finally, the failure mode, failure process, cracking moment, ultimate moment, and strain of the full‐scale model are studied. The calculation formulas of the flexural capacity of UHPFRC U beam considering ductile failure are derived. The comparative analysis results show that the prestressed UHPFRC U beam has an excellent flexural performance. The bending failure of a U‐shaped beam belongs to the group of ductile failures, which is characterized by the main crack along the central rib and the loading center, which is accompanied by multiple microcracks. The failure process can be divided into four stages: linear deformation, microcracks development, main cracks development, and bearing capacity decline. The incorporation of steel fiber and the interaction between UHPFRC and reinforcement can effectively reduce the development of cracks. The U‐beam bending moment is 50–55% of the ultimate bending moment. In the UHPFRC bridge design, the deformation can be used as a control index, and material advantages of the UHPFRC can be used to a certain extent. The strain‐hardening characteristics of the UHPFRC are obvious in the loading process. The finite element analysis results show that the maximum strain value appears at the central rib, followed by the transverse strain value of the bottom plate, while the minimum strain is the longitudinal strain value of the bottom plate. The deformation of the rib plate is the largest, and the strain of the other measuring points changes slowly. The farther away from the center the measurement point is, the slower its strain changes. Therefore, the load is mainly caused by the central rib and the loading center plate. With the increase in the deformation, the load on both sides continuously moves to the central rib along the plate surface. This study can provide a useful reference for theoretical analysis and design of prestressed U‐UHPFRC bridges.