T-type RC Pier Column Stiffness and Earthquake Resistant Design for a Ductile Mechanism

Abstract

The design of earthquake-resistant bridges should satisfy the "no-collapse requirement." In this study, an elastic analysis is conducted to examine the ductile or brittle mechanism based on section forces obtained from a spectrum analysis. For bridges with RC columns, the modeling of column stiffness based on flexural or yield stiffness can produce different section forces. Therefore, it is necessary to evaluate the effects of such differences to ensure the no-collapse requirement is met. A bridge with steel bearings and RC columns was selected for this study. The ductile mechanism was evaluated in terms of section forces for different degrees of column stiffness. Based on the results of this study, the safety of the no-collapse requirement is discussed in terms of the ductile mechanism. Keywords: No Collapse Requirement, Elastic Analysis Method, Reinforced Concrete Pier Columns, Flexural Stiffness, Yield Stiffness, Ductile Mechanism