Earthquake simulation test of circular reinforced concrete bridge column under multidirectional seismic excitation

1 Introduction Since the 1971 San Fernando earthquake, a signi?cant amount of research has been conducted on the ductility capacity of reinforced concrete bridge columns, resulting in signi?cant advances in the seismic design of bridges. Since most tests have been done in static or quasistatic conditions and unidirectional loading conditions, however, no method that properly evaluates the effect of multidirectional dynamic loading has been developed, and design recommendations on this effect a…

Earthquake simulation test of circular reinforced concrete bridge column under multidirectional seismic excitation

Structures behave multi-directionally when subjected to earthquake excitation. Thus, it is essential to evaluate the effect of multidirectional loading on the dynamic response and seismic performance of reinforced concrete bridge columns in order to develop more advanced and reliable design procedures. To investigate such effects, a 1/4 scaled circular reinforced concrete bridge column specimen was tested under two horizontal and one vertical components of a strong motion that has long duration with several strong pulses. Damage progress of reinforced concrete columns subjected to strong excitation was evaluated from the test. The test results demonstrate that the lateral force response in the principal directions become smaller than computed flexural capacity due to the bilateral flexural loading effects, and that the lateral response is not significantly affected by the fluctuation of the axial force because the horizontal response and axial force barely reached the maximum simultaneously due to difference of the predominant natural periods between the vertical and the horizontal directions. Accuracy of fiber analyses is discussed using the test results.