Damage-resistant segmental double-skin bridge column with replaceable energy dissipaters

Abstract

Under an extreme ground motion, the flexural capacity of a well designed Reinforced Concrete (RC) column deteriorates due to crushing of core concrete and buckling of longitudinal bars. Hence, the need for developing new cross sections and systems for seismic applications is evident. This paper presents the shake-table test of a damage-resistant segmental double skin bridge column with post-tensioned unbounded strands with incorporated replaceable energy dissipaters. The column cross-section is a double skin section composed of an outside glass fiber reinforced polymer tube, an inside steel tube, and concrete cast in between the two. The energy dissipaters consist of mild steel fuses outside the cross-section. The column has the advantages of accelerated bridge construction, self centering due to rocking, energy dissipation, and ease of replacing the dissipaters. The column was subjected to a sequence of scaled near-fault pulse-like ground motions. A reference RC column was also tested for comparison.