Numerical and Experimental Evaluation of Performance of Precast Segmental Bridge Piers with a Rectangular Hollow Section

Rapid bridge construction is in high demand in the construction of Shanghai Yangtze River Bridge, China, due to strict requirements on environmental protection and reduction of erection time.

Prefabricated bridge piers have been proposed for the fast construction of bridge substructures. One of the most crucial aspects in the construction of precast prestressed concrete bridge piers is the consistent performance between precast columns and onsite pier joints. This paper presents a scaled down static numerical and experimental study on precast piers with unbonded prestressing bars simulated total pressure force to check the feasibility of the proposed method. The main parameters were the location of joints between the segments. Test and analysis results showed that the use of onsite segmental joints did not create much weakness in the structural performance of the specimens and can be used effectively for the construction of practical bridge piers.