Based on Hertz contact theory, a method to determine the parameters of Kelvin impact model for seismic pounding analysis of bridges is proposed. The impact stiffness of Kelvin model is determined by the ratio of maximum impact force to maximum contact deformation, which is calculated based on Hertz contact theory with considering the vibration effect. The restitution coefficient which has great influence on the damping coefficient of Kelvin impact model is investigated by numerical analysis. Numerical results indicate that the impact stiffness of Kelvin impact model increases with the increment of the Hertz contact stiffness, approaching velocity or the length ratio of short to long girders. Vibration effect has remarkable influence on the impact stiffness and cannot be neglected. The restitution coefficient decreases when approaching velocity increases or the length ratio of short girder to long girder decreasing. The practical ranges of impact stiffness and restitution coefficient are obtained as 3 × 10^8--6 × 10^8 N/m and 0.6-3.95 respectively.
