Steel bridge piers with inner cruciform plates under cyclic loading

Abstract

The strength and ductility of steel bridge piers with inner cruciform plates were studied experimentally and theoretically. Three types of specimens were investigated, one with an ordinary stiffener, one with inner cruciform plates and one where the section is unstiffened, were tested under a constant compressive axial load and cyclic horizontal loads. Elasto-plastic and large displacement numerical analyses were carried out using the finite element package MARC. The effects of using inner cruciform plates on the strength and ductility of steel bridge piers were investigated where the height of the inner cruciform plate was varied in the box section bridge piers. It was found that piers with inner cruciform plates show better performance than ordinary piers with regard to ductility and energy absorption capacity.