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Experimental and numerical study on cyclic behavior of a UHPC-RC composite pier

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Abstract

Conventional reinforced concrete piers are vulnerable to severe compressive damage under strong earthquake conditions and are difficult to quickly rehabilitate. This paper develops a new type of composite pier, consisting of ultra-high-performance concrete (UHPC) and reinforced concrete (RC). This UHPC-RC composite pier uses a UHPC cover outside of an RC core to achieve a high load-carrying capacity and mitigate compressive damage. An experiment is performed to evaluate the performance of the UHPC-RC composite pier under cyclic deformation. The crack development, ultimate failure modes, and load-carrying capacities of the pier are observed. Because of the extraordinary compressive strength of UHPC, the composite pier suffers little compressive damage under large lateral deformations. The composite pier fails as a result of fracturing of the reinforcement. A numerical model is developed to reproduce the cyclic behavior of the composite pier. On the basis of the verified numerical model, a parametric analysis is used to investigate the influence of the thickness of the UHPC cover and the axial load ratio. Finally, an approach is recommended for designing composite piers.

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Acknowledgment

This study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China under Grant Nos. U21A20154 and 52078436, the Sichuan Science and Technology Program under Grant Nos. 2022JDRC0012, 2023YFG0064 and 2023YFS0429, and the Opening Funding Project of the Key Laboratory of Earthquake Engineering Simulation and Seismic Resilience of the China Earthquake Administration.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Bridge Engineering, Southwest Jiaotong University, Chengdu, 610031, China

    Xianzhi Zeng, Shengchun Zhu, Kailai Deng & Canhui Zhao

  2. Key Laboratory of High-Speed Railway Engineering, Ministry of Education, Southwest Jiaotong University, Chengdu, 610031, China

    Kailai Deng

  3. China Huaxi Engineering Design & Construction Co., Ltd., Chengdu, 610031, China

    Yiyun Zhou

Authors
  1. Xianzhi Zeng
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  2. Shengchun Zhu
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  3. Kailai Deng
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  4. Canhui Zhao
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  5. Yiyun Zhou
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Kailai Deng.

Additional information

Supported by: National Natural Science Foundation of China under Grant Nos. U21A20154 and 52078436, the Sichuan Science and Technology Program under Grant Nos. 2022JDRC0012, 2023YFG0064 and 2023YFS0429, and the Opening Funding Project of the Key Laboratory of Earthquake Engineering Simulation and Seismic Resilience of the China Earthquake Administration

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Zeng, X., Zhu, S., Deng, K. et al. Experimental and numerical study on cyclic behavior of a UHPC-RC composite pier. Earthq. Eng. Eng. Vib. 22, 731–745 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11803-023-2185-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11803-023-2185-9

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