Lateral Cyclic Response of Large-Scale Bridge Piers with Single and Double Layers of Longitudinal and Transverse Steel Reinforcements: An Experimental Study
Publication: Journal of Bridge Engineering
Volume 29, Issue 12
Abstract
A circular reinforced concrete (RC) bridge column with two layers of longitudinal and spiral reinforcements is becoming a common structural form in high-seismic regions because they are expected to have improved seismic performance compared to conventional bridge piers. In seismic hazard zones, a large amount of transverse reinforcement is commonly required to satisfy the so-called antibuckling requirements. Accordingly, the double-confined steel (DCS) RC bridge pier is a simple and effective way to achieve high ductility levels and postyield stiffness for bridge piers in seismic regions. In DCS, the longitudinal steel rebars are well distributed inside the cross section; at the same time, the two layers of transverse reinforcement outline different levels of confinement for concrete, including unconfined (cover), singly confined (positioned between two spiral layers), and doubly confined (found inside the inner spiral layer or the core). The adopted reinforcement details, layout, and scale were unprecedented for lateral testing of large-scale DCS. Therefore, this experimental program investigated the effectiveness of DCS as an alternative to typical RC bridge piers. The behavior of large-scale DCS was compared with the performance of conventional RC bridge pier. During the quasi-static cyclic lateral displacement-controlled loading, the onset of cracking, concrete cover spalling, damage progression, plastic hinge length development, lateral load–displacement relationship, and strain in the steel reinforcements were observed. Overall, the curvature, stiffness degradation, and energy dissipation capacity all revealed that the DCS could significantly enhance the seismic performance of a bridge pier. A fiber-based finite-element model was generated to predict the experimental response of the piers under cyclic loading. Charts depicting the relationship between the ratio of elastic stiffness and axial load were developed to serve as a valuable design resource for bridge piers. The charts were created by conducting moment–curvature (M−Φ) analyses on DCS sections. These analyses involved varying the longitudinal reinforcement ratios, reinforcement layouts, and other parameters while also considering different axial load ratios. Subsequently, the performance-based design (PBD) approach was employed to assess the extent of damage relative to engineering demand parameters. Furthermore, a comprehensive example was provided to showcase the design of DCS within the framework of PBD. The findings revealed that DCS successfully met the performance objectives outlined in the PBD guidelines, making it an attractive design option for conventional RC bridge piers.
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Data Availability Statement
All data, models, or codes that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
Acknowledgments
Financial contributions of the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) of Canada through the Collaborative Research and Development (CRD) grant and S-FRAME Software, Inc. were critical for conducting this study and are gratefully acknowledged. Thanks are also due to Advance Precast and Pump Pro for donating the steel rebar cages and concrete pumping services, respectively.
Notation
The following symbols are used in this paper:
- AR
- column aspect ratio;
- DC
- column diameter;
- DEXT
- external steel reinforcement cage diameter;
- DINT
- internal steel reinforcement cage diameter;
- dl = db
- longitudinal rebar diameter;
- EC
- floating-point value defining initial stiffness;
- eC0
- floating point value defining concrete strain at ;
- eC40
- floating point value defining concrete postpeak residual strain at 40% fcc;
- ecc
- floating point value defining concrete strain at fcc;
- Fc
- floating point value defining concrete compressive strength at 28 days;
- FY
- yield stress in tension;
- fcc
- floating point value defining the peak concrete confined strength;
- L = Le
- column height;
- Lp
- plastic hinge length;
- MU
- maximum moment at maximum curvature;
- P
- axial load;
- P0
- gross-sectional capacity;
- P/P0
- axial load ratio;
- Rs = ρl
- total steel longitudinal reinforcement ratio;
- TS = ρv
- total steel transverse reinforcement;
- ΔU
- ultimate displacement;
- ΔY
- lateral drift measured at the onset of steel yield;
- ΦU
- maximum curvature;
- εC
- floating point value defining concrete strain at maximum strength;
- εcu
- floating point value defining concrete strain at crushing strength;
- εF
- strain in the FRP reinforcement;
- εS
- strain in the steel reinforcement;
- εu
- strain at peak stress;
- εy
- strain in the steel at yield; and
- ε
- average strain.
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Published In
Journal of Bridge Engineering
Volume 29 • Issue 12 • December 2024
Copyright
© 2024 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Oct 10, 2023
Accepted: Aug 13, 2024
Published online: Oct 9, 2024
Published in print: Dec 1, 2024
Discussion open until: Mar 9, 2025
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