Seismic Performance Evaluation of RC Bridge Piers with Limited Ductility by the Pseudo-Dynamic Test

Even though Korean peninsula is located in regions of moderate seismic risks, current seismic design provisions of the roadway bridge design code have adopted the AASHTO code which is based on the requirements for high seismic regions. The objective of this research is to investigate the seismic performance of circular reinforced concrete (RC) bridge piers with limited ductility, which may be desirable in low or moderate seismic regions, such as in Korea. Four test specimens were designed and constructed. The reference specimen was designed with longitudinal steel ratio as 1.01% and the confinement reinforcement ratio as 0.13% without considering earthquake, and three other test specimens were designed in accordance with a limited-ductility concept as 0.3% for the confinement steel ratio. This confinement ratio is 0.32 times of minimum lateral reinforcement specified in current seismic design provisions, and 2.3 times of lateral reinforcement required in nonseismic design provisions. The pseudo-dynamic test was carried out to evaluate the seismic performance of full-scale specimens in size of 1.2m diameter and 4.8m height. Judging from the experiment, the reference specimen was not satisfactory for the demand displacement ductility =5.0, but three limited-ductility specimens appeared to have the displacement ductility of more than 5.