Seismic performance improvement of circular steel columns using precompressed concrete-filled steel tube

This paper presents a new method aimed at improving seismic resisting characteristics of circular-shaped steel columns representing highway bridge piers and an experimental investigation carried out to validate it. In this method, a special compression member is placed in the middle of the pier in order to take the axial load from the superstructure. As a result, the influence of axial load on the inelastic buckling deformation of plates can be greatly controlled. The special compression member consists of a precompressed concrete-filled steel tube (PC-CFT). Six specimens were tested to check the seismic performances of the proposed column system. It was clear from the test results that the specimens with PC-CFT could deform even up to ten times of their yield displacements without significant load deterioration. They also showed improved ultimate strength, ductility and energy absorption capacities than the corresponding benchmark specimens.