| Summary: | Collision between a moving ship and a bridge in inner rivers is a frequent occurrence that seriously endanger the safety of the bridge. Existing studies mostly address the action of a ship colliding with a bridge pier that is used as a substitution of the associated <i>whole bridge</i>. Such a simplification necessarily induces errors in reflecting the mechanical mechanism and dynamic characteristics of ship–<i>whole bridge</i> collisions. To circumvent this problem, the mechanical behavior of collision between a barge and a <i>whole bridge</i> was studied via elaborating a delicate barge–<i>whole bridge</i> collision simulation underpinned by impact mechanics and materials theories. The main contributions of this study are fourfold: (i) the entire process of the collision between the barge and a <i>whole bridge</i> was fully inspected; (ii) the progressive evolution of collision-induced damage in the bridge pier as well as in the barge was investigated; (iii) the effect of impact velocity, impact angle and barge mass on the collision behavior were elucidated, and (iv) the influences of the superstructure of the <i>whole bridge</i> on the peak value and temporal feature of the impact force, evolution of damage, and top displacement of the bridge pier were clarified. This study yielded more accurate, comprehensive, and reliable results on dynamics and damage evolution of collision in comparison with the outcome of a barge colliding a pier. These findings collectively reveal the mechanical mechanism and dynamic characteristics of collision, providing a scientific basis for developing post-collision damage assessment methods and anti-collision facilities.
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