Experimental Evaluation of Pre-Cast Pre-Stressed Segmental Concrete Bridge Columns

Abstract

Segmental bridge column construction has been proven to be an economic and durable option to accelerate the bridge construction in non-seismic regions in the United States. Examples include Seven Mile Bridge in Florida and Chesapeake and Delaware (C&D) Canal Bridge in Delaware. The lack of knowledge of the seismic behavior of a bridge with segmental columns is one of the important reasons which limit the use of such kind of system in seismic regions. To promote the use of segmental bridge columns into seismic regions, four large scale segmental columns were constructed and tested at National Center for Research on Earthquake Engineering (NCEER) in Taiwan. Recently, some researches on seismic behavior of precast segmental columns have been carried out worldwide. Some studies emphasized the use of bonded tendons to enhance the durability and strength of the column as opposed to unbonded systems. Relevant studies can be found in Mo et al. and Arai et al. In addition to the bonded systems, some other researchers advocated the use of unbonded tendons to reduce the possibility of the yielding of the tendons, thus preserving the necessary clamping force after strong seismic event. Relevant studies can be found in Hewes et al., Chou et al., Billington et al., and Lee et al. The first column specimen tested in NCREE used unbonded post-tensioned tendons and no supplemental energy dissipation devices were provided. The other three specimens used bonded tendons and were provided with mild steel reinforcements that were extended across the joints to enhance the hysteretic energy dissipation.