EXPERIMENTAL AND ANALYTICAL INVESTIGATION OF AN UNCONVENTIONAL, ROCKING TYPE RESPONSE MECHANISM FOR EARTHQUAKE-RESISTANT BRIDGES

Abstract eng:
In the present study a new technique is investigated, which takes advantage of the rocking principle for the treatment of the two ambivalent demands in bridge designing, i.e. due to seismic and serviceability actions. The idea is based on the formation of cracks only in two positions on each bridge pier, which are the pier cross-sections in contact with the deck and the pile cap respectively, excluding the possibility of cracking in the mid-length of the piers. The possibility of flexural crack formation in one of these cross-sections was examined experimentally in order to reach the above objective. This was achieved through partial suppression of the longitudinal reinforcement bond with the surrounding concrete. In order to confirm the feasibility of the above objective and to verify the influence of the bond suppression on all three response indexes, namely strength, stiffness and ductility, eight experimental specimens in the form of cantilevers, representing ductile bridge piers, were prepared. The varying parameter was the shear span ratio. Useful results were observed regarding the three response indexes and interesting conclusions were obtained.

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