Curvature response of bridge pier subjected to earthquake action in a saline soil environment

Abstract

The curvature of bridge piers can be described in terms of their syntagmatic deformation in the cross-sectional tensile and compressive zones. In the present study, 12 reinforced concrete bridge piers were designed and cast. Two of them were control specimens without corrosion, while the other 10 were corroded by immersion in a saline solution through the application of an electrical current; pseudo-static tests were conducted on the bridge piers after corrosion. The failure modes, corrosion ratios of the rebars, and load–curvature backbone curves were obtained and discussed. The evolution in curvature, in relation to different axial forces and corrosion ratios, was compared and analysed. It was found that the effective diameter of the rebars was reduced by corrosion, resulting in considerable reductions in the expected deformability (curvature) of the bridge pier cross-section. A robust load–curvature model was derived based on classical lamination theory and by dividing the bridge pier cross-section into concrete and steel reinforcement bar layers. The modelled curvature values match the results of the pseudo-static tests well. The experimental data and model can help lay out improved guidelines for bridge design, particularly for the seismic design of bridge piers in saline soil environments.