Experimental study on seismic performance of steel fiber reinforced concrete wall piers

Extensive damage to the bridges in recent earthquakes has revealed the vulnerability of these structures to the seismic excitation. Bridge piers play a key role in maintaining the operability of the bridge structure during and after earthquakes. As determinant elements in single-pier bridges, wall piers significantly affect the bridge structure behavior. Hence, the present experimental study was conducted to examine the seismic performance of wall piers made of modern materials, that is, fiber reinforced concrete (FRC) in RC bridges. Eight wall piers made of steel fiber reinforced concrete (SFRC) with different aspect ratios, steel percentages and concrete strength were subjected to lateral load. The results showed that using SFRC reduced the steel strain within the serviceability range. Compared to conventional concrete, SFRC changes failure modes and deformational characteristics and also increases the energy dissipation capacity, stiffness in every drift values, load-bearing capacity as well as yielding length.