Fragility Analysis Research Articles

Time-Varying Seismic Fragility Analysis of ECC-RC Composite Bridge with High-Strength Steel Bars

An Engineered Cementitious Composites (ECC)-Reinforced Concrete (RC) composite pier with high-strength steel bars was developed to address various deterioration concerns in bridges, such as reinforcement bar corrosion, decreased concrete strength, and inadequate seismic performance of RC piers. This paper focuses on the seismic performance of the bridge with ECC-RC composite piers with high-strength steel bars. The nonlinear finite element models of bridges with common RC piers and ECC-RC composite piers with high-strength steel bars are established using OpenSees. Considering the effect of chloride erosion during bridge service and the damage and repair of concrete cover, time-varying fragility curves for bridge piers, bearings, and the bridge system were established based on the Incremental Dynamic Analysis (IDA) and the Capacity Demand Ratio (CDR) analysis method, followed by a comprehensive analysis. The results show that when ECC with high-strength steel bars is adopted in the plastic hinge area of bridge piers, the exceeding probability of ECC-RC composite piers with high-strength steel bars is significantly reduced. However, it has minimal impact on the seismic fragility of the bearings. When the bridge was in service for 100 years, the exceeding probability of the ECC-RC composite bridge system with high-strength steel bars was reduced by 18.79%, 51.33%, 49.38%, and 19.5%, respectively, under four different damage states.

Uncertainty propagation of flutter derivatives and structural damping in buffeting fragility analysis of long-span bridges using surrogate models

Buffeting of long-span bridges caused by the wind turbulence could result in problems of large deformation, fatigue, traffic safety and user comfort. The calculation of buffeting responses is greatly affected by multiple uncertainties, especially the randomness of flutter derivatives and structural damping. In buffeting analysis, these uncertainties are typically propagated using the brute-force Monte Carlo (MC) method, which requires enormous computational resources for a complicated structure involving multiple uncertainties. This study develops an efficient framework based on surrogate models to account for these uncertainties in buffeting responses and the assessment of structural fragility in a mixed climate. Two surrogate models, Kriging and polynomial chaos expansions (PCE), are applied in this framework. Comparison with the direct MC method shows that the Kriging model rather than the PCE model is the proper surrogate model, and the surrogate model contributes significantly to saving computing time from 17 h to 1 min for MC simulations.It is also observed that uncertainties propagated from structural parameters to responses will be more notable as the wind speed increase. Buffeting fragility curves of this bridge show that it’s easier for responses in acceleration to achieve and exceed thresholds, indicating that performance related to user comfort might not be satisfied. By introducing the probability distributions of non-typhoon and typhoon winds at the site of the bridge, it is found that considering single climate may underestimate structural risk. The framework based on surrogate models in this paper can be further generalized to additional PBWE frameworks addressing different wind and structural engineering issues.

Fragility Analysis of the Main Building–Coal Conveyor Trestle Interaction System of a Thermal Power Plant

Thermal power plants play a crucial role in the power system as critical lifeline infrastructure. In order to meet the production process requirements, the main building of a thermal power plant is often connected to a coal conveyor trestle. This study focuses on investigating the seismic interaction between the common three-row reinforced concrete frame-bent main building and the steel trestle in a circulating fluidized bed (CFB) unit. The objective is to assess the influence of the trestle on the main building and understand the failure mode of the trestle structure. The seismic interaction is analyzed through fragility analysis based on Incremental Dynamic Analysis (IDA). The results indicate that the trestle has minimal influence on the main building, except during the large deformation stage. The study identifies the failure mode of the coal conveyor trestle as excessive relative displacement along the longitudinal direction at the connection points, leading to collisions or falls. A seismic demand model based on longitudinal relative displacement is developed to obtain the fragility curve for the trestle structure. These findings offer valuable insights for assessing the seismic performance of thermal power plants.

Research on seismic fragility of subway station based on incremental dynamic analysis method

Seismic intensity measure is an significant parameter that affects the accuracy of structural seismic risk assessment, and plays an important role in the performance-based earthquake engineering research framework. Taking a two story, three span, and shallow buried subway station as the research object, a two-dimensional finite element analysis model of soil structure underground in a typical engineering site was established using ANSYS. Ten earthquake records were selected from PEER as input, and the structural seismic fragility analysis method based on incremental dynamic analysis (IDA) method was introduced into the subway station structure. The maximum story drift angle was used as the structural damage index, and three typical seismic intensity measures were selected, the exploration is conducted on the seismic intensity measures applicable to shallow buried subway stations and the variation pattern of seismic response of subway stations with increasing seismic amplitude. The seismic fragility curve of shallow buried subway station structures is established to obtain the failure probability of the structure at different seismic intensity levels. The analysis results indicate that for shallow buried subway stations, PGA is the most suitable seismic intensity measure, and the comparison with existing empirical fragility curves shows that the vulnerability analysis method is feasible and can quantitatively provide the failure probability of structures at different performance levels, providing reference for seismic design of underground structures.

Development of fragility functions of low-rise steel moment frame by artificial neural networks and identifying effective parameters using SHAP theory

Estimating analytical fragility functions requires high computational costs due to numerous incremental non-linear dynamic analyses. This study employs a soft computing approach to reduce this process and increase estimation accuracy. Utilized a fragility database of low-rise steel moment structures designed for different versions of Iranian seismic design code, and six feedforward Artificial Neural Networks (ANN) with various architectures were trained to estimate the fragility function’s parameters to determine the most desired architectures. The neural networks used the design parameters (frames story, code edition of design, ductility, soil type, near- and far-field earthquake, and seismic zone factor and importance factor) as inputs. For each of the fragility function’s parameters (Median PGA and βs of damages: slight, moderate, extensive, and complete) as outputs, an ANN was trained. The best architect of ANN was selected based on the accuracy of the models from different statistical indicators and the most balanced of the inputs’ importance on the outputs using SHapley Additive explanations (SHAP) analysis. To demonstrate the accuracy of the selected architect, the coefficient of determination was estimated for all database values, and the fragility functions of four randomly chosen frames were compared. The high R2 value in most cases and the closeness of the predicted fragility curved with the actual one indicates the reliability of the ANN method for predicting the fragility function.

Analytical fragility relation for buried cast iron pipelines with lead-caulked joints based on machine learning algorithms

A new numerical-based fragility relation for cast iron (CI) pipelines with lead-caulked joints subjected to seismic body-wave propagation is proposed in this article. Two-dimensional 1600-m-length finite element models for pipelines buried in sand are developed in OpenSees. Parametric analysis is performed to investigate the influence of various parameters on the damage estimates of the buried pipelines. Numerical analyses are conducted to estimate the repair rates ( RR) for CI pipelines subjected to wave propagation. The predictive model for RR is thus developed based on the numerical results and the Gaussian Process Regression approach. The model developed employs four predictor variables, namely, the peak particle velocity and wave propagation velocity along axial direction, the maximum soil shear force per unit length, and the outer diameter of pipelines, exhibiting desirable performance in terms of predictive efficiency and generalization. The performance of the developed relation is compared to several existing fragility relations. The new fragility relation can be used to estimate RR for CI pipelines with lead-caulked joints with outer diameters ranging from 169 to 1554 mm subjected to seismic body-wave propagation.

Seismic fragility analysis of water supply pipelines retrofitted with corrosion-protection liner buried in non-uniform site

The corrosion-protection liner (CPL) technology consists of installing flexible plastic liners with anchoring studs inside existing pipelines and subsequently filling cement mortar to the gap between the waterproof liner and the pipeline. With the excellent chemical resistance, impermeability and fast construction speed, CPL provides an economical and environmentally friendly alternative for pipeline rehabilitation without large-scale excavation. However, the seismic performance of water supply pipelines after being retrofitted with CPL has not been well studied yet. In this study, a series of full-scale quasi-static experiments were firstly conducted on ductile-iron push-on joints before and after reinforcement with CPL to investigate the nonlinear behavior of the joints under longitudinal load and transverse bending. Simplified numerical models of straight pipelines with joints before and after retrofitting in the non-uniform site were then developed in the OpenSees platform, and incremental dynamic analysis (IDA) were performed with consideration of nonlinear soil-pipeline interaction. Twenty-eight pairs of ground motions with the peak ground velocities (PGV) collectively scaled from 200 mm/s to 3000 mm/s were used as inputs. Seismic fragility curves of the pipelines before and after retrofitting were developed with respect to the optimum intensity measure, PGV. It can be seen from the experimental results that the longitudinal load and bending moment capacity of the push-on joint increased about 400% and 20% after CPL reinforcement, respectively, and the joint opening and rotation decreased about 20% and 18% after retrofitting. Numerical results show that the CPL reinforced pipelines exhibit better seismic performance and CPL effectively reduces the failure probability of segmented pipelines under earthquake ground excitations.

Seismic fragility analysis of rocking buckling-resistant braced structures subjected to far-field and near-field ground motions

To address the inadequate seismic performance of traditional buckling-restrained braced frame structures (BRBFS), this study introduces a novel structure, the rocking buckling-restrained braced frame structure (RBRBFS). The RBRBFS achieves effective control of main structure damage and enhances structural energy dissipation and seismic resilience by disconnecting the column feet from the foundation in the BRBFS and using friction energy dissipation devices as rocking column feet. This research aims to quantitatively assess the seismic performance and collapse safety margin of the new RBRBFS under different types of ground motions. To achieve this goal, two eight-story structures, one is traditional BRBFS and the other is RBRBFS, were designed. Incremental Dynamic Analysis (IDA) was employed, accounting for ground motion uncertainty, to conduct a comparative study of the seismic fragility of both structures subjected to near-fault pulse-like and far-field earthquake ground motions. Nonlinear dynamic analysis results indicate that under high-intensity ground motions, the RBRBFS significantly improves structural ductility and effectively controls structural damage. Compared to BRBF structures, the BRBFS exhibit a reduction of 26.5% and 18.3% in damage probability deviation under the two seismic excitations, highlighting their more stable structural response under varying seismic conditions. Furthermore, this novel RBRBFS increases the collapse margin ratio by 25% to 30%, demonstrating its higher seismic collapse resistance capacity

Statistical fragility analysis of reported outcomes associated with surgical management of acetabular labral pathology.

The purpose of this study was to analyse the robustness of comparative research that evaluated arthroscopic labral reconstruction versus other surgical management of labral pathology. Key measures of statistical fragility include the fragility index and fragility quotient.ß. 12 comparative studies that evaluated the use of arthroscopic labral reconstruction were included in this study. Particular attention was placed on evaluating trends, either statistically significant or not, of functional improvement, complication rates, need for total hip arthroplasty (THA) and revision rates with associated p-values. The analysis involved in this study was the Fragility Index, which is the median number of events required to change the statistical significance of a particular outcome, thus changing the study conclusions. Fragility quotient was calculated for each study as the fragility index divided by sample size. Of the 12 studies that were included for analysis, there were a total of 25 reported outcomes, 8 of which were statistically significant (p < 0.05). The statistical fragility for the significant outcomes were 2.5 (interquartile range [IQR]: 1.5-3.5), whereas the median statistical fragility for insignificant results was 6 (IQR 4-9). The overall fragility index was 4 (IQR 3-7). The median of fragility quotients was 0.04 (IQR 0.01-0.07). This study demonstrated that comparative research regarding arthroscopic techniques of labral reconstruction may not be as statistically stable as previously hoped. In many of the reported outcomes, particularly the ones that were statistically significant, only a small percentage of event changes was required to change the significance of the study conclusions. This fragility is worrisome, since clinical decisions that rely on these reported outcomes may have a significant impact on long-term patient outcomes. It is, therefore, crucial to optimise patient outcomes by incorporating past literature and reported outcomes.

Fragility analysis of nuclear containment under inner pressure based on a simplified method and program (NCMC)

In order to solve the shortcomings of fragility analysis by finite element method, this paper proposes a method for calculating the structural fragility of nuclear containment under the loading of inner pressure (which is abbreviated as “inner pressure fragility”) based on a simplified calculation method and related program (coded by Python) named as NCMC. This enables direct preliminary screening to delete unsuitable nuclear containment types that cannot meet the required failure probability. In addition, this paper conducts a detailed parameter analysis on factors such as concrete thickness and material type, liner thickness, and the numbers of tendons and rebars in the hoop and vertical directions. By analyzing the changes in failure probability due to parameter changes, based on confirming the safety margin and load bearing capacity of the original nuclear containment type, suggestions for parameter choices are provided for a certain containment. The same method and analyzing routine can also be used for realizing fast parameter selection for other structures.

Seismic fragility functions for earthquake-induced landslide risk assessment using identified optimal earthquake intensity measures

Seismic fragility analysis can relate the probability of unsatisfactory performance of slopes with increasing intensity of ground motions, which is the basic component of landslide hazard risk assessment. Determination of the optimal earthquake intensity measure (IM) is one of important prerequisite for seismic fragility analysis. Although a small number of studies have already performed seismic fragility analysis of slopes, the optimal IM for seismic fragility analysis of slopes have not been discussed and researched. In the present study, 15 IMs and two different engineering demand parameters (EDPs), including factor of safety (FOS) and Newmark permanent displacement (NPD), are selected for probabilistic seismic demand and seismic fragility analysis of slopes. The metrics of correlation, practicality, efficiency, and proficiency are adopted to identify the optimal earthquake IMs among the studied 15 IMs for two EDPs in seismic fragility analysis of slopes respectively. The results have found that the optimal IM is different for slope fragility analysis when different EDPs are selected. Acceleration spectrum intensity is the most optimal IM among the examined 15 IMs for seismic fragility analysis of slopes when FOS is adopted as the EDP. When NPD is selected as the EDP, root mean square of acceleration and velocity spectrum intensity are in general more appropriate than other IMs. In the last, the seismic fragility curves with regard to two EDPs and corresponding optimal IMs are derived for interpreting more properly slope seismic performance and earthquake-induced landslide risk.

Seismic performance evaluation of a five-story column-and-beam glulam frame with steel-timber buckling restrained braces

This paper summarizes the results of numerical simulation and fragility analysis of a five-story column-and-beam glulam frame with chevron steel-timber buckling restrained braces (BRBs). Key parameters of the rotational behavior of the bolted beam-to-column connections and column base connections were modeled and calibrated using shaking table test results. Prediction methods of the stiffness and capacity of the steel-timber BRBs were proposed and validated with the test results. An FEM model of the glulam frame with steel-timber BRBs was developed to capture the frame seismic response and validated using shaking table test results. The FEM model which considered damping change and damage accumulation achieved good agreement with shaking table test results, with the modelling errors of displacement amplitude for most conditions less than 15 %. Fragility analysis of the frame was conducted based on the validated FEM model. The probability of exceeding the collapse prevention limit state under the VII-rare earthquake excitations was reduced to close to zero when steel-timber BRBs were used. This study demonstrates the potential for using glulam frames with steel-timber BRBs in Chinese VII seismic regions.

Analysis of neural fragility in epileptic zone based on stereoelectroencephalography

There are some limitations in the localization of epileptogenic zone commonly used by human eyes to identify abnormal discharges of intracranial electroencephalography in epilepsy. However, at present, the accuracy of the localization of epileptogenic zone by extracting intracranial electroencephalography features needs to be further improved. As a new method using dynamic network model, neural fragility has potential application value in the localization of epileptogenic zone. In this paper, the neural fragility analysis method was used to analyze the stereoelectroencephalography signals of 35 seizures in 20 patients, and then the epileptogenic zone electrodes were classified using the random forest model, and the classification results were compared with the time-frequency characteristics of six different frequency bands extracted by short-time Fourier transform. The results showed that the area under curve (AUC) of epileptic focus electrodes based on time-frequency analysis was 0.870 (delta) to 0.956 (high gamma), and its classification accuracy increased with the increase of frequency band, while the AUC by using neural fragility could reach 0.957. After fusing the neural fragility and the time-frequency characteristics of the γ and high γ band, the AUC could be further increased to 0.969, which was improved on the original basis. This paper verifies the effectiveness of neural fragility in identifying epileptogenic zone, and provides a theoretical reference for its further clinical application.

Performance indices and fragility assessment of steel frame structure with bolted low-yield-point steel connection components

A resilient steel frame structure equipped with replaceable ductile and energy-dissipative connection components was developed in this study. Connective components, such as splice plates and T-stubs are made of low-yield-point steels (LYPs), which have superior ductility and energy dissipation capacity. The plastic hinge can be separated from the column surface by local weakening, thus concentrating local damage within low-yield-point steel connection components (LYP-Cs) to effectively enhance ductility of the structure. Five-story and ten-story bolted steel frame structures with four configuration parameters were designed to investigate the seismic performance and damage development of steel frame structures with LYP-Cs (SF-LYP-Cs). Corresponding numerical models were established. Welded steel frame structures with traditional reduced beam sections (SF-RBS) were also established for comparison. Pushover analyses were conducted to explore the effect of structural fuses and to obtain multi-stage performance indices of the resilient steel frame structure based on energy dissipation proportion (EDP) and damage behavior. Incremental dynamic analysis was performed to verify proposed performance indices, and seismic performance of SF-LYP-Cs was evaluated via fragility analysis. The results showed that LYP-Cs were not only effective structural fuses but also effectively delayed the damage development in the primary members, thus reducing the failure probability of the structures. The multi-stage performance indices were conductive to describe the multiple lines of resistance and effects of structural fuses. A larger weakening degree and smaller beam height mitigated plastic damage development in primary members. When LYP-Cs dominate the system’s energy dissipation, the section sizes of columns and the number of structural stories exert only slight influence on the structural performance indices.

Time-dependent fragility analysis of a nuclear containment structure under internal pressure and chloride-induced corrosion

The prestressed concrete containment structure, serving as the ultimate barrier against nuclear fuel leakage, holds paramount importance in ensuring the uninterrupted operation of nuclear power plants. Particularly in the aftermath of the Fukushima nuclear disaster, the influence of material aging and degradation of containment structures has been emphasized. Consequently, a probabilistic performance assessment of containment structures under chloride-induced corrosion condition is of significant relevance. This study presents a method for time-dependent fragility analysis of nuclear containment structures subjected to internal pressure, considering the effect of chloride-induced corrosion of steel reinforcement. A highly efficient and accurate finite element model with multi-layered shell element is formulated for damage and failure analysis. Furthermore, a corrosion degradation model of reinforced concrete, aligned with the attributes of multi-layered shell elements, is derived to reduce the reduce parameter samples generated by Latin Hypercube sampling technique. Material uncertainties and time-dependent effects are jointly integrated into the finite element analysis process, culminating in the establishment of fragility curves for the containment structure under various service lifetimes. The results indicate that within first 40 years of service, the load-bearing capacity of the containment structure has slightly decreased, while the probabilities of functional and structural failures in the containment structure will significantly increase after 60 years of service.

A KDE-based non-parametric cloud approach for efficient seismic fragility estimation of structures under non-stationary excitation

With the development of performance-based earthquake engineering, the risk-informed assessment framework has received broad recognition over the world, of which the probability seismic fragility analysis is an important step. The classic seismic fragility adopts the lognormal assumption and forms a parametric derivation. With the development of fragility theory, researchers are hoping to seek out non-parametric approaches to express the intrinsic fragility in a pure analytical form without any distribution assumptions. Besides, how to keep the calculation efficiency (e.g., combining with cloud approach) and how to consider the non-stationary stochastic responses (e.g., combining with non-stationary stochastic excitation model) are critical aspects in fragility that deserve further attention of researchers. In this paper, a kernel density estimation (KDE) based non-parametric cloud approach is proposed for efficient seismic fragility estimation of structures under non-stationary excitation. First, the methodology framework of the efficient approach is illustrated. Then, the procedures of non-stationary stochastic seismic response of structures and KDE-based non-parametric cloud approach for efficient seismic fragility are demonstrated. After that, an application example via a three-span-six-story reinforced concrete frame is given for implementation, followed with a parametric analysis of critical factors. During the process, the classic parametric linear-regression based cloud approach (cloud-LR) and benchmark Monte-Carlo-simulation based cloud approach (cloud-MCS) are also incorporated for validation. In general, the analysis verifies the effectiveness of the non-parametric cloud-KDE approach without requiring more computation work (i.e., same as the parametric cloud-LR approach and much less than the benchmark cloud-MCS approach). Meanwhile, the non-parametric cloud-KDE approach indicates a comparable accuracy with the classic fragility approaches (i.e., less deviation than the parametric cloud-LR approach and much closer to the benchmark cloud-MCS approach), and with the increase of stochastic cloud-point number, the corresponding fitting degree of cloud-KDE approach is growing better. The research provides a new sight for the development of non-parametric seismic fragility approach, and the corresponding findings can be further combined with the probabilistic hazard and risk analysis for a non-parametric assessment procedure in performance-based earthquake engineering.

Seismic fragility analysis of the steel frame with new layered assembled joints

In order to improve the assembly efficiency of the steel frames, a new fully-bolted core tube joint was proposed in combination with the seismic performance requirements of the joint. Cyclic loading tests were carried out on both new and traditional joints to study their seismic performance, and the joint parameters obtained from the tests were introduced into the overall frame model in SAP2000 to perform Incremental Dynamic Analysis. Based on the single-parameter damage model and the two-parameter damage model, the structural performance level limits were defined, the damage states were classified, and the seismic fragility analysis of the structure was performed. The results showed that the fragility curves of the steel frame with the new joint were enveloped within the fragility curves of the steel frame with the traditional joint under both single and double damage indices, and the collapse resistance reserve factor of the steel frame with new joint was larger. That is, the use of the new joint could reduce the failure probability of the structure under each damage state and improve the collapse resistance of the frame. The median PGA values of the structure based on the single-parameter damage index were smaller than those based on the two-parameter damage index in the LS1 ∼ LS2 limit states, and the opposite was true in the LS3 ∼ LS4 limit states, meaning that the cumulative energy dissipation had an obvious influence on the evaluation of the seismic performance of the structure, and the combination of the two-parameter damage index could better predict the damage degree of the structure. Additionally, increasing the inner sleeve height in the joint domain improved the overall performance and reduced the failure probability of the structure.

Impact of asymmetrical corrosion of piers on seismic fragility of ageing irregular concrete bridges

This article investigates the seismic fragility of ageing irregular multi-span reinforced concrete (RC) bridges. Different irregularity sources are considered, including: (i) substructure stiffness irregularity arising from the unequal-height piers, (ii) substructure stiffness irregularity arising from the spatially variable (asymmetrical) corrosion damage of piers and (iii) irregular distribution of effective tributary masses on piers of varying heights. To this end, a three-dimensional nonlinear finite element model is developed for multi-span RC bridges and verified against a large-scale shake table test results of a two-span concrete bridge specimen available in the literature. Nonlinear pushover, incremental dynamic and seismic fragility analyses are performed on three groups of two-span RC bridges with different configurations. Moreover, a time-dependent dimensionless local damage index is employed to evaluate the failure sequence and collapse probability of selected bridge layouts. The analysis results of the three studied irregularity sources show the considerable significance of spatially variable corrosion of bridge piers and substructure irregularity on the failure sequence of piers and seismic fragility of multi-span RC bridges. Furthermore, analysis outcomes show that uneven corrosion of piers triggers an unbalanced distribution of seismic ductility demands and irregular seismic response of equal-height multi-span RC bridges.

Seismic Fragility Analysis of Steel Pipe Pile Wharves with Random Pitting Corrosion

This paper investigates the seismic damage behavior of steel pipe pile wharves after pitting corrosion. The seismic intensity is treated as random, and a probabilistic strength model for randomly pitting corroded steel is utilized to assess the seismic response of a typical steel pipe pile wharf. By analyzing the internal force response of each pile and the deformation response of the deck and soil slope, the process of seismic failure in steel pipe pile wharves with different pitting corrosion ratios is investigated. The results demonstrate that pitting corrosion amplifies the internal force within the steel pipe piles, leading to more severe seismic damage. Additionally, probabilistic seismic demand functions are established for the most vulnerable row of piles affected by random pitting corrosion, and the seismic fragility of the pipe pile wharves considering different pitting corrosion ratios is evaluated. These findings provide valuable insights for the design and strengthening of steel pipe pile wharves.

Quasi-static tests and seismic fragility analysis of RC bridge piers with high-strength steel bars and high-strength/ultra-high performance concrete

The use of high-strength steel bars (HSSB), high-strength concrete (HSC) and ultra-high performance concrete (UHPC) in bridge piers can obviously improve bearing capacity and save material consumption. However, the use of high strength materials may detrimentally affect the seismic performance of reinforced concrete (RC) piers. This paper tries to study the seismic performance of RC piers with HSSB and HSC/UHPC by quasi-static tests and seismic fragility analysis. Three RC piers, solid pier with normal strength steel bars (NSB) and normal strength concrete (NSC), solid pier with HSSB and HSC, and hollow pier with HSSB and UHPC, were designed and tested under quasi-static loading. The failure mode, hysteretic performance, stiffness degradation and residual displacement of three specimens were compared and analyzed. A fiber-based beam-column finite element model (FEM) was developed to simulate the nonlinear response of RC piers with HSSB and HSC/UHPC. On this basis, the seismic fragility analysis was performed to study the effects of high-strength materials on the seismic performance of RC piers. Research results show that, compared with NSC piers, HSC piers reinforced with a small amount of HSSB still exhibited slightly larger lateral bearing capacity but lower deformability due to the higher brittleness of HSC. The UHPC hollow pier presented obviously larger deformation capacity, and more slow decline speed of lateral stiffness than NSC and HSC solid piers. Meanwhile, the matching use of UHPC and HSSB in hollow pier can improve the elastic deformation, and then reduce residual displacement of RC piers. The proposed fiber-based finite element model (FEM) can simulate the nonlinear response of RC piers with different high-strength materials with reasonable accuracy. Fragility results demonstrate that, HSC pier presents lower seismic fragility than NSC pier at different damage states except for collapse due to lower ductility of HSC pier. The UHPC hollow pier with HSSB has lower seismic fragility than NSC and HSC solid piers at the same seismic intensity. Overall, the hollow pier with HSSB and UHPC can maintain good seismic performance while greatly saving material consumption.