International Concrete Abstracts Portal

ACI Committees 441 – Reinforced Concrete Columns and 341A – Earthquake-Resistant Concrete Bridge Columns, Mohamed A. ElGawady Columns are crucial structural elements in buildings and bridges. This Special Publication of the American Concrete Institute Committees 441 (Reinforced Concrete Columns) and 341A (Earthquake-Resistant Concrete Bridge Columns) presents the state-of-the-art on the structural performance of innovative bridge columns. The performance of columns incorporating high-performance materials such as ultra-high-performance concrete (UHPC), engineered cementitious composite (ECC), high-strength concrete, high-strength steel, and shape memory alloys is presented in this document. These materials are used in combination with conventional or advanced construction systems, such as using grouted rebar couplers, multi-hinge, and cross spirals. Such a combination improves the resiliency of reinforced concrete columns against natural and man-made disasters such as earthquakes and blast.

Accelerated Bridge Construction (ABC) technologies are being adopted by state transportation departments. One particular ABC technology is the use of precast concrete members joined with mechanical connectors. However, there are concerns about these connections in moderate-to-high seismic regions. A study was carried out for the Idaho Transportation Department (ITD) on the seismic performance of precast columns with grouted couplers versus the conventional cast-in-place columns. Experimental data provided the necessary input to model the grouted couplers. Using the OpenSees finite element analysis program, selected bridges were subjected to the seismic conditions of the most seismically active location in Idaho. Under seismic conditions considered, the stresses in both the longitudinal reinforcing bars and the grouted coupler regions are found to be well within acceptable ranges. The study resulted in recommendations on allowable column drifts, a list of approved grouted rebar couplers, and typical detail drawings for inclusion in the ITD’s Bridge Manual.

Structural redundancy and robustness are necessary to protect against beyond design seismic loads. In this paper, the idea of improving these properties is applied to single column bridge piers using the hybrid PRESSS/Dissipative Controlled Rocking (DCR) system through a novel technique called hierarchical activation. This technique involves the inclusion of more “hinges” (rocking interfaces) and or sets of dissipative devices in such a way that they are activated in a hierarchy with respect to the displacement of the structure. A 2/3 scale cantilever column designed to use this technique was tested. The specimen was capable of multiple configurations, two of which are focused on in this paper: conventional DCR; and segmented DCR (segDCR), which used hierarchical activation. Hierarchical activation was successfully achieved in the experiment; and despite the global response being similar, segDCR was found to be advantageous with respect to reducing the cyclic strain demand on the dissipaters.

The spiral reinforcement is a special detailing technique used for reinforcing columns in regions of high seismic activities because of its ability in energy absorption and ductility. In this paper, the results of the experimental testing on cross spiral confinement in reinforced concrete columns are presented. The experimental results were verified by nonlinear finite element analysis as well as an analytical model. The developed analytical model was based on the octahedral stress criterion and compared with other models available in the literature. In the Finite element model, the concrete damage plasticity and steel yielding criterion were used in the constitutive equations. The finite element showed very good prediction of the ultimate load and failure strain for various spiral reinforcement ratios. Analytical stress-strain models have been developed and compared to the experiment results in the literature and found work well in predicting the columns behavior under monotonic axial loads. The authors see that the proposed technique is a very good potential of industry implementation and provides a more seismic resiliency to structures.

Such detailing technique could be used as a mitigation system for columns in high seismic zones.

Current seismic codes prevent bridge collapse under strong earthquakes. For conventional reinforced concrete (RC) bridges, this performance objective is usually achieved through confinement of ductile members such as columns. When an RC bridge column undergoes large displacements, its reinforcement yield and sometimes buckle, the cover concrete spalls, and the core concrete sometimes fail. Damage of reinforcement and core concrete is not easy to repair. Advanced materials and new technologies are emerging to enhance the seismic performance of RC bridge columns by reducing damage, increasing displacement capacities, and/or reducing permanent lateral displacements. Two types of advanced materials, shape memory alloy (SMA) bars and engineered cementitious composite (ECC), are the focus of the present study. SMA bars are viable reinforcement for concrete structures since they resist large stresses with minimal residual strains. Furthermore, ECC, which is a type of fiber-reinforced concrete, shows significant tensile strain capacities with minimal damage. SMA-reinforced ECC bridge columns are ductile with minimal damage and insignificant residual displacements under extreme events. A displacement-based design method for NiTi superelastic SMA-reinforced ECC bridge columns is proposed based on large-scale experimental and extensive analytical studies. A summary of the proposed guidelines, background information, and supporting studies are presented for this novel column type to facilitate field deployment. Finally, the details of the world first SMA-reinforced ECC bridge constructed in Seattle, USA, is discussed.