Experimental Studies on the Seismic Performance of Underwater Concrete Piers Strengthened by Self-Stressed Anti-Washout Concrete and Segments

Given that the existing drainage strengthening methods for underwater damaged piers are expensive, inefficient, and cause shipping traffic disruptions, an urgent need exists to explore undrained strengthening methods, such as the precast concrete segment assembly method (PCSAM). However, the PCSAM has certain limitations, including a considerable strength loss of filled concrete, poor accuracy, poor connection performance of the segment sleeves, etc. Hence, this study developed an improved PCSAM (IPCSAM) by adopting self-stressed anti-washout concrete (SSAWC) as the filling material and developing a lining concrete segment sleeve (LCSS) based on the design principle of shield tunnel lining segments. Subsequently, the seismic performance of the strengthened piers was investigated. First, nine 1/5-scale pier column specimens were designed by considering different influencing factors: the self-stress of the SSAWC, LCSS reinforcement ratio, and initial damage and length-diameter ratio of the pier column. These specimens were tested under low reversed cyclic loading. Second, an extended parameter analysis was performed based on the established numerical models consistent with the quasi-static test's parameter settings. Finally, a restoring force model of the strengthened piers, including the trilinear skeleton curve model and hysteresis curve model, was established based on the results of the quasi-static test and parameter analysis. The results indicated that the bearing capacity, ductility, and initial stiffness of the specimens strengthened using the IPCSAM increased by approximately 83.5-106.4%, 16.3-50.2%, and 83.9-177.3%, respectively, with the energy dissipation capacity also significantly improved. The self-stress of the SSAWC should not exceed 2.2 MPa, and the recommended ratio of the LCSS thickness to pier column diameter is 1/10. Additionally, the proposed restoring force model is highly accurate and applicable, able to provide a reference for the practical seismic strengthening design of piers.