- Author
- Kunnath, S. K. | El-Bahy, A. | Taylor, A. W. | Stone, W. C.
- Title
- Cumulative Seismic Damage of Reinforced Concrete Bridge Piers.
- Coporate
- University of Central Florida, Orlando National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD
- Report
- NISTIR 6075, October 1997, 132 p.
- Distribution
- AVAILABLE FROM National Technical Information Service (NTIS), Technology Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, Springfield, VA 22161. Telephone: 1-800-553-6847 or 703-605-6000; Fax: 703-605-6900. Website: http://www.ntis.gov
- Keywords
- piers | bridges (structures) | reinforced concretes | damage | columns | cyclic load | ductility | energy capacity | experimental testing | low cycle fatigue | seismic damage
- Abstract
- A comprehensive experimental study was undertaken in this research effort to investigate cumulative damage in reinforced concrete circular bridge piers. Twelve identical quarter-scale bridge columns, designed and fabricated in accordance with current AASHTO specifications, were tested in two phases. Phase 1 testing consisted of benchmark tests to establish the monotonic force-deformation envelope, the energy capacity under standard cyclic loads, and constant amplitude tests to determine the low-cycle fatigue characteristics of the bridge column. Phase 2 testing was composed of a series of analytically predicted displacement amplitudes representing the bridge response to earthquakes. The results of Phase 1 testing provided information on the fatigue behavior of reinforced concrete and Phase 2 provided data on the effects of load path on cumulative damage.