Seismic Performance of a Bridge Supported by C-Bent Columns

This article presents an experimental and analytical study on the seismic performance of a bridge supported by C-bent columns. C-bent columns have a unique failure mechanism due to the eccentric moment. The failure mechanism and nonlinear hysteretic behavior of C-bent columns are first clarified based on a series of loading experiments for fourteen models with the eccentric moment ratio raging from 0.33-0.50. An empirical bilinear stiffness degrading hysteretic model is developed for the torsion vs. rotation hysteresis. The seismic performance of a bridge supported by C-bent columns is analyzed based on a nonlinear dynamic response analysis. Effectiveness of three seismic retrofit measures for C-bent columns is clarified based on a series of loading experiments.