Unbonded Pretensioned Columns for Accelerated Bridge Construction in Seismic Regions
Publication: Journal of Bridge Engineering
Volume 22, Issue 5
Abstract
A new concept was developed to accelerate the construction of highway bridge bents, to improve their seismic resilience, and to make them more durable. On-site construction activities are accelerated by precasting the columns and cap beams and by using socket connections at the bottoms of the columns and grouted connections at the top. Unbonded pretensioning of the columns increases both the bridge’s seismic resilience (through improved recentering) and its durability (through reduced cracking), whereas precasting improves quality control. Previous researchers have incorporated unbonded posttensioning into structural systems to reduce postearthquake residual displacements, but pretensioning is preferable in terms of construction convenience, speed, and quality control. Epoxy coating also adds corrosion resistance to the pretensioned strands. Two cantilever concrete subassemblies, representing the top and bottom connections for a column, were subjected to constant axial load and cyclic lateral loading. The tests demonstrated that the new system recenters better than does a comparable RC column. Furthermore, the inelastic action was restricted to the columns, thereby validating the capacity protection of the connection regions.
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Acknowledgments
Funding for this research was provided by the Pacific Earthquake Engineering Research Center (PEER), TransNow, and the Valle Foundation of the University of Washington. The column specimens were fabricated by Concrete Technology Corporation. Vince Chaijaroen assisted with the laboratory testing. The support of all of the research participants is gratefully acknowledged.
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Published In
Journal of Bridge Engineering
Volume 22 • Issue 5 • May 2017
Copyright
© 2017 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Nov 26, 2012
Accepted: Jul 20, 2016
Published online: Feb 3, 2017
Published in print: May 1, 2017
Discussion open until: Jul 3, 2017
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