Hysteretic model for steel piers considering the local buckling of steel plates

Abstract

The pier is a vital structural component of bridges and thus critically considered in the seismic design. In order to provide an accurate and efficient methodology in the analysis of seismic response, a hysteretic model considering the effect of local buckling of steel plates is proposed for steel piers. In the hysteretic model, the Giuffre-Menegotto-Pinto hysteresis model is employed to establish the hysteresis curve equation, and the energy-based Ibarra-Krawinkler degradation rule is followed to describe the deterioration rule of structural bearing capacity and stiffness. In this study, a widely used Chinese steel Q345qC was taken as an example to illustrate the proposed model for steel piers. At first, the seismic performance of steel piers under horizontal cyclic load was analyzed. Then, the empirical formulae of the vital limit state points for evaluating the structural seismic performance were established, and further the identification of the decisive parameter (degradation parameter) of the hysteretic model was carried out. Morever, the verification on the effectiveness of the proposed model was verified, and the results showed its applicability and accuracy for steel piers under horizontal cyclic loads. Finally, the application of the proposed model in the seismic calculation of steel piers was interpreted.