Seismic performance of fabricated concrete piers with grouted sleeve joints and bearing-capacity estimation method

doi:10.1016/j.istruc.2021.04.047

Structures

Volume 33, October 2021, Pages 169-186

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.istruc.2021.04.047 Get rights and content

Abstract

The seismic performance and design method of fabricated concrete bridge piers limit their applications in complex and harsh environments. In this study, a continuous bridge pier in an 8-degree seismic fortification intensity area was considered as a prototype. Two 1/3-scale models were designed and manufactured. The specimens were connected via a grouted sleeve connections (SFP) and a grouted sleeve prestressing tendon composite connections (SSFP), respectively. Moreover, a cast-in-place 1/3-scale model (reinforcement concrete pier, RCP) was designed as a comparison specimen. Quasi-static experiments were performed on these three specimens. The seismic performance of the specimens was analysed according to the failure phenomena, bearing capacity, displacement ductility, stiffness, energy-dissipation capacity, and residual deformation. On these basis, a bearing-capacity estimation method for SFP (including SSFP) was developed and validated. The results indicated that the damage to the SFP and SSFP mainly accumulated along the top and bottom of the sleeves. The plastic hinge area of the SFP and SSFP moved up or down. Thus, the damage to the SFP and SSFP was concentrated at the joints. Cracks first occurred at the seam of the two fabricated specimens when the loading drift was relatively small. Then, the concrete at the loading edge of the joints was crushed. Furthermore, the longitudinal bars yielded and broke. Finally, the specimens failed. Compared with the RCP, the SFP and the SSFP had larger yield and ultimate displacements. The bearing capacities of the RCP and the SFP were similar. However, the bearing capacity of the SSFP was significantly higher. The bearing capacities of the SFP and SSFP did not decrease significantly before the specimens failed. Compared with the RCP, the SFP had a lower initial stiffness, a lower stiffness degradation rate, similar displacement ductility, smaller residual displacement, and less cumulative energy dissipation. The SSFP was better than the SFP with regard to the displacement ductility, initial stiffness, and cumulative energy dissipation. Thus, the SFP and SSFP can satisfy the seismic requirements of high-intensity areas. The proposed bearing-capacity estimation method can be used for the seismic design and evaluation of SFPs and SSFPs.

Introduction

Fully fabricated concrete bridges have the advantages of short construction cycles, a relatively small environmental impact, and reliable component quality. This type of bridge structure attracts attention for development and applications in various countries [1], [2]. The fabrication technology of the bridge superstructure is mature, and it has been used in many engineering applications (e.g. fabricated box girders and fabricated T-beams). Compared with cast-in-place (CIP) piers, the seismic performance of fabricated piers (FPs) significantly limits their applicability in bridge substructures. Their applicability is also limited the seismic performance of the fully fabricated bridges. Thus, the fabricated substructure technology of bridges is a popular research topic. Numerous studies have been conducted on methods for improving the seismic performance of fabricated bridge piers.

To investigate the seismic performance of fabricated concrete piers, Mander et al. [3] conducted pseudo-static tests on FP specimens connected to the foundation by unbonded prestressed steel. The results indicated that the FP swung around the joint at the bottom of the pier under a horizontal load. The shear and lateral bearing capacity of the FP were mainly provided by the pier’s own weight and prestress. There was little damage to the pier body. There was almost no residual deformation after the test. The FP had a strong self-resetting ability. However, the energy-dissipation capacity decreased as the horizontal displacement increased. Hewes et al. [4] performed a pseudo-static test on segment-assembled bridge piers connected with unbonded prestressed steel. They focused on the effects of parameters such as the initial prestress, the ratio of the prestress steel, and the wall thickness of the steel casing on the seismic performance. The results indicated that the steel sleeve restraint improved the ductility of the specimen. It reduced the amount of surface damage to the specimen. And it also reduced the degrees of cracking and spalling of the concrete protective layer in the plastic hinge area of the pier bottom. However, the steel sleeve restraint also reduced the energy-dissipation capacity of the specimen. Billington et al. [5], [6], [7] proposed a fabricated bridge pier system suitable for seismic-area applications. And a pseudo-static test on the system was conducted. The results indicated that the system had the advantages of energy dissipation, self-resetting, and ductility. The slenderness ratio significantly affects the crack development of this type of bridge pier. At a larger slenderness ratio, more cracks appear in the specimen. Ou [8] performed a pseudo-static test on a bridge pier assembled with unbonded prestressed steel. The results indicated that the limit migration rate of this type of FP satisfies the seismic demand of a segment assembled pier in a high-intensity area.

In recent years, the grouted sleeve connectors for FPs were became a study hotspot. Wang [9] conducted pseudo-static tests on two grouted sleeve connection FP specimens with different embedded positions. The results indicated that the damage degree of the FPs was low. The plastic hinge of the fabricated test piece with the sleeve embedded in the foundation was similar to that of the CIP pier. Ameli [10], [11], [12] conducted some useful studies on the seismic performance of precast concrete bridge columns connected with grouted splice sleeve connectors. The results indicated that the precast subassemblies had a lower displacement ductility capacity than the CIP specimen. And an intentional debonded reinforcing bar zone was used to further improve the displacement ductility capacity of the bridge subassembly. Liu, Saiidi, Al-Jelawy and some other scholars conducted different studies on the connection performance and the application methods of grouted splice sleeve connectors to different study object [13], [14], [15], [16], [17], [18]. Some improvement method for the connection performance of grouted splice sleeve connectors were proposed. And some effective application methods of grouted splice sleeve connectors for piers were also constructed. Hieber [19], Kwan and Billington [20], [21], Dawood [22], Wang [23], etc. modelled the fabricated components on the basis of experimental research and numerical simulations. The numerical analysis results provided a basis for improving the seismic performance of FPs. A review of recent studies indicated the following. (1) The unbonded prestressing tendon joint and grouted sleeve joint are commonly used as the fabricated joint. The FP with the grouted sleeve joint can essentially achieve the design principle of the equivalent CIP pier. (2) The recent studies mainly focused on the design parameters of FPs in low-intensity areas (6-degree seismic fortification intensity). The design method and seismic performance of FPs in high-intensity areas need improvement. (3) Joint failure is the main failure form of FPs. The failure of joints causes FP rotation around the joints. Balancing the plastic energy-dissipation capacity and self-reset capability of FPs is crucial for improving their seismic performance.

Thus, many scholars have investigated methods for enhancing the seismic performance of FPs. Palermo et al. [24] and Bu [25] studied the effect of energy-consuming steel bars on the seismic performance of fabricated bridge piers with unbonded prestressed steel bars. The results indicated that the energy-dissipating capacity of the specimen was significantly increased with the addition of the energy-dissipating steel reinforcement. This type of FP is suitable for medium- and high-intensity areas. Shim et al. [26] conducted a pseudo-static test to evaluate the seismic performance of an FP connected with bonded prestressed steel. The results indicated that the prestressing tendon provided a good self-resetting ability when the horizontal load was relatively small. However, when the horizontal displacement was large, a plastic hinge zone was formed at the bottom of the pier. In this case, the residual displacement was large. Marriott et al. [27] studied the effect of external energy-dissipating devices on the seismic performance of an FP with an unbonded prestressed connection. The results indicated that adding replaceable metallic dampers increased the energy-dissipation capacity of the FP. Kim [28] proposed a new CIP bridge pier combined with partially fabricated sections. An experimental study on the seismic performance of the pier was conducted. The results indicated that this type of pier had good ductility, a high lateral bearing capacity, and a high energy-dissipation capacity. The pier can be used in medium- and high-intensity areas. Jia and Saiid [29] performed a pseudo-static test on fabricated concrete-filled steel tube piers with bolt connections. The results indicated that the specimens with bolts had good ductility, with a high energy-dissipation capacity and high lateral bearing capacity. Kim et al. [30] performed a pseudo-static test and a numerical simulation analysis of four FP specimens with anti-shear connections. The results indicated that the anti-shear connection can significantly improve the anti-shear performance of fabricated joints. Ou and Tsal et al. [31] and Zhou et al. [32] performed pseudo-static tests and numerical simulation analyses of FPs using high-performance energy-dissipation steel bars. The results indicated that high-performance steel bars can improve the energy-dissipation capacity of the bridge pier. The unbonded prestressed steel beam can significantly improve the self-resetting ability. The recent findings indicate the following. (1) The joint area is the main damage area of FPs. The arrangement of the energy-dissipation steel bars, fibre-reinforced concrete, and steel pipes in the plastic area can reduce the damage to the joints. These methods can increase the energy-dissipation capacity and ductility of the FPs. However, these methods may reduce the self-resetting ability of the FP. The introduction of unbonded prestressing steel can improve the self-resetting ability of the FP. (2) The seismic performance and arrangement methods of fabricated joints significantly affect the seismic performance and failure modes of the FP. (3) The lack of calculation methods for the bearing capacity of FPs limits the application of FPs in high-intensity areas [33].

In this study, a continuous bridge pier in an 8-degree seismic fortification intensity area was taken as a prototype. Two FPs with grouted sleeve connections (SFP) and grouted sleeve prestressing tendon composite connections (SSFP) were designed and manufactured. For comparison, a CIP reinforcement concrete pier (RCP) specimen was also manufactured. Then, pseudo-static tests of these three specimens were performed. The failure mode, bearing capacity, displacement ductility, and other properties were systemically analysed to evaluate the seismic performance of the specimens. According to the results, a bearing-capacity estimation method for the SFP (including SSFP) was proposed and verified. The findings provide a reference for the design and application of the SFP and SSFP in high-intensity areas.

Section snippets

Model design

The prototype bridge was a continuous bridge. The span arrangement was 30 m (0# pier) + 30 m (1# pier) + 30 m (1# pier). The seismic fortification intensity of the bridge was 8-degree. The main girder was a box girder. The width and height of the girder were 12.50 m and 1.80 m, respectively. The continuous bridge pier (1#pier) was taken as a prototype pier. The height of the pier was 9.6 m, and its cross section was square (1.60 m × 1.60 m). The longitudinal reinforcement of the pier was HRB400

Experimental phenomena

The failure mode of the three specimens is shown in Fig. 7. Comparison of the failure mode and crack development process at the same drift ratio are shown in Table 3.

As shown in Fig. 7 and Table 3, the failure mode of the RCP specimen was that of eccentrically compressed members under a bending load. The cracks in the plastic hinge area of the specimen were fully developed which were mainly distributed in the plastic hinge area at the bottom of the pier. And the cracks were evenly distributed

Hysteretic performance

Fig. 8 shows the energy-dissipation hysteresis curves of the three specimens.

As shown in Fig. 8, the hysteretic energy-dissipation capacities of the specimens increased in the following order: RCP, SFP, and SSFP. The SFP had a similar bearing capacity to the RCP. The ultimate bearing capacity of the SFP was approximately 175 kN. Compared with the RCP and SFP, the bearing capacity of the SSFP was significantly higher. The ultimate bearing capacity reached 225 kN. When the drift ratio was between

Sfp

When the crack of the seam was fully developed, the assembled bridge pier rotates around the foot points on both sides of the loading direction under the cyclic load. The concrete at the joint has no stress except for the contact forces $fv$ and $ft$ provided at the foot points, as shown in Fig. 19.

It is assumed that the pier has not completely failed and is balanced under the action of the horizontal force $F$ . $F = f_{t} + \sum_{i = 1}^{N} f_{τ i} cos θ + \sum_{i = 1}^{N} f_{si} sin θ$ $f_{v} = - \sum_{i = 1}^{N} f_{τ i} sin θ + \sum_{i = 1}^{N} f_{si} cos θ + m g$ $f_{t} = μ f_{v}$ $F \cdot H + m g \cdot e_{0} = \sum_{i = 1}^{N} f_{τ i} d_{i} / 2 +$

Conclusion

Taking a continuous bridge pier in an 8-degree seismic fortification intensity area as a prototype, three 1/3-scale concrete bridge pier test specimens were designed and fabricated. Two of them used grouted sleeve connections and non-bonded prestressing tendon-grouted sleeve combination connections. For comparison, one of them was cast-in-place bridge pier specimen. Pseudo-static experiments were performed to analyse the failure mode, bearing capacity, displacement ductility, stiffness,

Declaration of Competing Interest

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

Acknowledgments

The financial support of the National Natural Science Foundation of China, through Grant Nos. 51908015, 51978021 is greatly appreciated. This research was partly supported by National Key R&D Program of China, through Grant No. 2017YFC1500604. This work was also partly supported by the Project funded by Beijing Municipal Education Commission (Grant No. KM201910005020) and the Basic Research Fund of Beijing University of Technology (Grant No. 004000546318524); their support is gratefully

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¹: These authors contributed equally.

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Seismic performance of fabricated concrete piers with grouted sleeve joints and bearing-capacity estimation method

Abstract

Introduction

Section snippets

Model design

Experimental phenomena

Hysteretic performance

Sfp

Conclusion

Declaration of Competing Interest

Acknowledgments

J Build Eng

Eng Struct

Eng Struct

Eng Struct

Eng Struct

Eng Struct

Seismic behavior and design of unbonded post-tensioned precast concrete frames

PCI J

Seismic performance of precast unbonded prestressed concrete columns

ACI Struct J

Alternate substructure systems for standard highway bridges

J Bridge Eng

Seismic performance of segmental precast unbonded posttensioned concrete bridge columns

J Struct Eng

Seismic performance of precast bridge columns with socket and pocket connections based on quasi-static cyclic tests: experimental and numerical study

J Bridge Eng

Seismic analysis of precast concrete bridge columns connected with grouted splice sleeve connectors

J Struct Eng

Seismic column-to-footing connections using grouted splice sleeves

ACI Struct J

Seismic evaluation of grouted splice sleeve connections for reinforced precast concrete column-to-cap beam joints in accelerated bridge construction

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