Research on seismic performance of precast concrete pier confined by round steel tube

To improve the seismic performance of prefabricated bridge piers, this study proposes a prefabricated steel tube-confined concrete bridge pier with a hybrid connection system composed of steel-pipe shear connector and grouted sleeves. Taking the connection type and the presence or absence of steel tube confinement as the main variables, quasi-static tests were conducted on four different types of bridge piers. The seismic performance of these piers under cyclic loading was comparatively analyzed. Based on the experimental results, a finite element model was developed to investigate the effects of key parameters, including the axial compression ratio and slenderness ratio, on the seismic performance of the bridge piers, and an engineering case model was further established. The results show that the axial compression ratio, slenderness ratio, ratio of the embedded depth of the steel-pipe shear connector to the pier height, and strength of the core concrete have significant effects on this type of bridge pier, whereas the ratio of the steel-pipe shear connector radius to the pier radius has a relatively minor influence.