Response of a steel column-footing connection subjected to vehicle impact

This study investigated the performance of a steel column standing on a reinforced concrete footing when it was subjected to collision of an eight-ton single unit truck. Finite element analyses of the structure with different connection schemes were performed using the finite element model of the truck, and the results showed that the behavior of the column subjected to the automobile impact depended largely on the column-footing connection detail. Various reinforcement schemes were investigated to mitigate the damage caused by the car impact. The probability of the model reinforced with a certain scheme to reach a given limit state was obtained by fragility analysis, and the effects of the combined reinforcement methods were investigated based on the equivalent fragility scheme. The analysis results showed that the reinforcement schemes such as increase of the pedestal area, decrease of the pedestal height, and the steel plate jacketing of the pedestal were effective in reducing the damage. As the speed of the automobile increased the contribution of the increase in the number of the anchor bolts and the dowel bars became more important to prevent crushing of the pedestal.