Title:
Strut-and-Tie-Based Design and Testing of Reinforced Concrete Pier Caps
Author(s):
Indu Geevar, Devdas Menon, and Meher Prasad A.
Publication:
Structural Journal
Volume:
117
Issue:
2
Appears on pages(s):
211-223
Keywords:
corbel; cracking; disturbed regions; pier cap; serviceability; shear; strut and tie
DOI:
10.14359/51721393
Date:
3/1/2020
Abstract:
This study was motivated by the observation of unexpected cracking in an actual reinforced concrete (RC) pier cap, consisting of a pair of two secondary corbels, supported on a primary corbel with the pier at its center. The pier cap was analyzed using the strut-and-tie method (STM) by considering a three-dimensional (3-D) model. Tests were carried out on two scaled-down pier cap specimens to assess safety and serviceability performance. The load-carrying capacity of the pier cap was under-predicted by approximately 75% by STM using ACI 318 and AASHTO codes. The test results presented in the paper include evolution of cracking and strains in the steel reinforcing bars, along with load-deflection plots. It was observed that concentrating reinforcing bars near the bearings resulted in an increase in strength by approximately 8.5% without adversely affecting serviceability. In summary, STM is found to provide an effective basis for the design and detailing of such complex pier caps.