Cyclic loading test for RC bridge piers strengthened with UHPC jackets in the corrosive environment: Fid-Bau Portal

Cyclic loading test for RC bridge piers strengthened with UHPC jackets in the corrosive environment

Yuan, Wenting / Wang, Xiatao / Dong, Zhaoxing / Zhou, Peng / Wang, Qiang

Abstract Ultrahigh-performance concrete (UHPC) jacketing has been proposed to improve the mechanical performance of the new or existing RC bridge piers, though little is known about their seismic behavior in the corrosive environment. To address this issue, this study presents the quasi-static cyclic experiments of four piers locally strengthened with UHPC jackets. The investigated variables of these piers are UHPC height and corrosion level. Based on the test results, the influence of corrosion level and height of UHPC jacket on the hysteretic curve, strength, ductility, stiffness and strength degradation, energy dissipation capability, and residual displacement, are analyzed and discussed. The results show that the corrosion level of reinforcements in the UHPC zone was smaller than that in the normal strength concrete zone of specimens. Compared to the uncorroded specimen, the joint effect of steel fibers corrosion and reinforcement corrosion led to a poor hysteresis performance of the corroded structure in terms of elastic stiffness, displacement ductility, and load-bearing capability. Furthermore, under the similar corrosion degree of reinforcement, the smaller height of UHPC jackets resulted in more significant degradation of stiffness and strength, and weaker energy dissipation capability for the pier.

Highlights • Cyclic tests for RC bridge piers strengthened with UHPC jackets under corrosion condition are conducted. • The effects of corrosion levels and UHPC heights on the strength, stiffness degradation and dissipated energy of piers are analyzed. • The displacement profile along the pier height is determined using the DIC technique. • The residual deformation of the uncorroded and corroded pier is compared.