Seismic Behavior of Precast Self-Centering Bridge Piers

Document Type : Original Research

Authors
M. Sam Daliri
H. Yousefpour
H. Khosravi
Babol Noshirvani University of Technology
10.22034/23.2.3
Abstract
Accelerated construction methods are extensively used worldwide to reduce the negative impacts of bridge construction on urban traffic. These methods usually require prefabricating parts of the bridge off-site, which reduces on-site construction time and improves the quality and safety of construction. While the use of precast elements for bridge decks is relatively common, using precast elements for bridge piers is a recent development, especially in high-seismicity regions. Prefabrication of bridge piers can further expedite the construction of bridges. Moreover, the use of precast elements can be combined with a self-centering capability, through which the earthquake-induced damage and cost of post-earthquake repairs are greatly reduced. Despite a number of previous numerical and experimental studies on the behavior of precast, self-centering bridge piers, limited information is available on the selection of design parameters for such piers, and important decisions such as the prestressing force needed to achieve suitable seismic behavior remains to a large extent uncertain. This study aims to investigate the seismic behavior of concrete bridges consisting of precast self-centering piers, in which unbonded, post-tensioned tendons are used for self-centering and reinforcing steel is used to dissipate earthquake energy. A two-dimensional numerical model was developed in OpenSees to simulate the behavior of concrete bridges consisting of precast self-centering piers. The model consisted of fiber elements to model concrete and mild steel, as well as truss elements to model unbonded post-tensioning steel. The model also involved the use of zero-length sections to model the bond-slip behavior of mild steel bars. The modeling approach was validated based on experimental results available in the literature on cyclic loading of four bridge piers. To evaluate the effects of various design parameters on the behavior of precast segmental bridge piers, 9 segmental piers with different percentages of prestressing force and reinforcing steel were designed according to 2017 AASHTO LRFD Bridge Design Specifications. All piers were designed to possess similar nominal flexural capacities. The piers were then subjected to monotonic, cyclic, and dynamic time history analyses. The results showed the positive effects of prestressing in delaying cracking and reducing the residual drifts of precast bridge piers. Increasing the prestressing force ratio up to 10 percent of compressive strength of the pier cross section was observed to improve the overall seismic behavior of the structure, above which a further increase in the prestressing level may result in a diminished performance. The optimal value for the prestressing force ratio, which resulted in the most desirable behavior for cyclic and dynamic loadings was therefore found between 0.1 and 0.15. In piers with a prestressing ratio above 0.15, a decrease was observed in the area of hysteresis loops, which was accompanied by negative stiffness of the base shear versus drift curve. Moreover, the residual drift of the pier increased when prestressing ratios greater than 0.15 were used. The maximum drift of the structure was found to be insensitive to the prestressing force ratio. The results of this study are of great value for optimal design of precast, self-centering bridge piers in high-seismicity regions.

Keywords

Subjects

Hewes JT and Priestley MJN, Seismic design and performance of precast concrete segmental bridge columns, San Diego: Report No. UCSD/SSRP-2001/25, University of California, 2002.
Ou YC, Chiewanichakorn M, Aref AJ, Lee GC, "Seismic performance of segmental precast unbonded posttensioned concrete bridge columns," ASCE J Struct Eng, No. 133:1636–47, 2007.
Wang JC, Ou YC, Chang KC, Lee GC, "Large-scale seismic tests of tall concrete bridge columns with precast segmental construction," Earthquake Eng Struct, No. 37:1449–65, 2008.
Ou YC, Wang PH and Tsai MS, et al., "Large-scale experimental study of precast segmental unbonded posttensioned concrete bridge columns for seismic regions.," Journal of Structural Engineering, No. 136: 255-264., 2010.
Ou YC, Tsai MS, Chang KC, Lee GC, "Cyclic behavior of precast segmental concrete bridge columns with high performance or conventional steel reinforcing bars as energy dissipation bars," Earthquake Eng Struct Dyn, No. 39:1181–98, 2010.
Dawood, H., Elgawady, M., and Hewes, J., "Factors affecting the seismic behavior of segmental precast bridge columns.," Front. Struct.Civil Eng., No. 8(4), 388–398., 2014.
Salehi, M., Sideris, P., & Liel, A. B, "Numerical simulation of hybrid sliding-rocking columns subjected to earthquake excitation," Journal of Structural Engineering, No. 143(11), 04017149, 2017.
Cai, Z. K., Zhou, Z., & Wang, Z, "Influencing factors of residual drifts of precast segmental bridge columns with energy dissipation bars," Advances in Structural Engineering, No. 22(1), 126-140, 2019.
Cohagen, L. S., Pang, J. B. K., Eberhard, M. O., and Stanton, J. F., A precast concrete bridge bent designed to re-center after an earthquake, Washington, DC.: Report-Washington State Dept. of Transportation, 2008.
Lee WK, Billington SL, "Modeling residual displacements of concrete bridge columns under earthquake loads using fiber elements," J Bridge Eng, No. 15:240–9, 2009.
Bu, Z. Y., Ding, Y., Chen, J., & Li, Y. S., "Investigation of the seismic performance of precast segmental tall bridge columns.," Structural Engineering and Mechanics, No. 43(3), 287-309., 2012.
Schaefer, J., Kennedy, B., Stanton, J. F., and Eberhard, M. O., Unbonded pretensioned bridge columns with rocking detail, Report: University of Washington, 2013.
Sideris P, Aref AJ, Filiatrault A, "Large-scale seismic testing of a hybrid sliding rocking posttensioned segmental bridge system," Journal of Structural Engineering, No. 140:04014025, 2014.
Bu, Z. Y., Ou, Y. C., Song, J. W., Zhang, N. S., & Lee, G. C., "Cyclic loading test of unbonded and bonded posttensioned precast segmental bridge columns with circular section.," Journal of Bridge Engineering, No. 21(2), 04015043., 2015.
Thonstad, T., Mantawy, I., Stanton, J. F., Eberhard, M. O., and Sanders, "Shaking table performance of a new bridge system with pre-tensioned, rocking columns," Journal of Bridge Engineering, No. 21(4), 04015079., 2016.
Mantawy, I. M., Thonstad, T., Sanders, D. H., Stanton, J. F., & Eberhard, M. O, "Seismic performance of precast, pretensioned, and cast-in-place bridges: Shake table test comparison," Journal of Bridge Engineering, No. 21(10), 04016071, 2016.
Davis PM, Janes TM, Haraldsson OS, Eberhard MO, Stanton JF., "Unbonded Pretensioned Columns for Accelerated Bridge Construction in Seismic Regions," Journal of Bridge Engineering, No. 3:04017003, 2017.
Thonstad, T., Kennedy, B. J., Schaefer, J. A., Eberhard, M. O., & Stanton, J. F, "Cyclic Tests of Precast Pretensioned Rocking Bridge-Column Subassemblies," Journal of Structural Engineering, No. 143(9), 04017094, 2017.
Lufeng Zhao, Kaiming Bi , Hong Hao , Xiaozhen L, "Numerical studies on the seismic responses of bridge structures with precast segmental columns," j.engstruct, 2017.
Wang, Z., Wang, J. Q., & Liu, T. X., "Axial compression ratio limit for self‐centering precast segmental hollow piers.," Structural Concrete, No. 18(5), 668-679., 2017.
Ou, Yu-Chen, Ade Yuniati Pratiwi, and Jianwei Song., ""Pseudodynamic Testing and Inelastic Displacement Ratios of Self-Centering Precast Concrete Segmental Bridge Columns."," Journal of Structural Engineering, No. 144, No. 9 : 04018158., 2018.
Wang, Z., Wang, J. Q., Liu, T. X., & Zhang, J., "An explicit analytical model for seismic performance of an unbonded post-tensioned precast segmental rocking hollow pier.," Engineering Structures, No. 161, 176-191., 2018.
Ahmadi E, Kashani MM., "Numerical investigation of nonlinear static and dynamic behaviour of self-centring rocking segmental bridge piers.," Soil Dyn Earthq Eng, No. 128:105876., 2020.
Dawood H, ElGawady M and Hewes J, "Behavior of segmental precast posttensioned bridge piers under lateral loads," Journal of Bridge Engineering, No. 17: 735-746, 2012.
Chang, G.A., and Mander, J.B., Seismic Energy Based Fatigue Damage Analysis of Bridge Columns: Part 1 – Evaluation of Seismic Capacity, Buffalo, N.Y.: NCEER Technical Report No. NCEER-94-0006, State University of New York, 1994.
Waugh, J., "Nonlinear analysis of T-shaped concrete walls subjected to multi-directional displacements," PhD Thesis, Iowa State University, IA., 2009.
Mazzoni S, McKenna F and Scott HM, et al., Open system for earthquake engineering simulation (OpenSees) command language manual., University of California, Berkeley: Pacific Earthquake Engineering Research Center (PEER)., 2009.
Mander JB, Priestley MJN and Park R, "Theoretical stress-strain model for confined concrete.," Journal of Structural Engineering, No. 114: 1804-1826., 1988.
Zhao J and Sritharan S, "Modeling of strain penetration effects in fiber-based analysis of reinforced concrete structures.," ACI Structural Journal, No. 104: 133-41., 2007.
AASHTO., "AASHTO LRFD Bridge Design Specifications," American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, Washington, D.C., 2017.
Applied Technology Council (ATC) "Quantification of building seismic performance factors," FEMA, US Department of Homeland Security, 2009.
Modares Civil Engineering journal
Volume 23, Issue 2
May and June 2023
Pages 39-57