Numerical study on seismic behavior of precast bridge columns with large-diameter bars and UHPC grout considering the bar-slip effect

Abstract

A novel connection adopting lap-spliced large-diameter bars and ultra-high performance concrete (UHPC) grout was developed to accelerate the assemble progress of precast bridge columns. The precast bridge column adopting the connections was testified to be on a par with the monolithic concrete counterpart in terms of seismic performance in previous research. This paper aims to develop a numerical model to further investigate the seismic behavior of the proposed bridge column considering the bar-slip effect. A finite element model was established for the bridge columns considering deformation components of flexure, shear, and bar-slip. The bond behavior between the deformed bar and UHPC was defined using a new practical model, which was developed based on a pullout test including five specimens in this research. The established finite element model was verified by the cyclic loading test in literature in terms of the overall hysteretic curve and local responses. The validated model was used to conduct parametric analysis to study the contributions of the different deformation components to lateral deformation as well as the effects of large-diameter bars on seismic performance. Results show that all the pullout specimens have the tensile fracture of bars, which indicates that the development length of 5 times bar diameter is sufficient for deformed bars in UHPC when the bar diameter is no more than 32 mm. The practical model is effective to consider the effects of the slip between the deformed bar and UHPC. The finite element model can predict the overall hysteretic curve and local responses at different drift ratios. The bar-slip has a considerable even dominative contribution to the lateral deformation of the proposed bridge column. Larger bar diameter can enhance deformation capacity as well as reduce energy dissipation and residual drift ratio.