Predictions and Evolution Characteristics of Failure Modes of Degenerate RC Piers

During the service process, piers are often in harsh chloride ion erosion environments. The failure mode evolution of reinforced concrete (RC) piers may occur under the action of continuous corrosion. Accurately identifying the failure mode types and evolution characteristics of corroded RC bridge piers is a prerequisite for the lifetime seismic performance evaluations of bridges. First, based on Fisher’s theory and 174 RC pier columns as the analysis samples, a two-stage discrimination formula for the pier failure modes was established and compared with the existing theoretical discrimination methods. Then, based on Fisher’s discriminant grouping, and combined with Bayes’ formula and chloride erosion theory, a failure mode discrimination method for corrosion-damaged bridge piers that considers probability was developed. Finally, taking a medium-span concrete bridge as an example, the failure modes of the corroded pier in different service periods were predicted, and the influences of the various parameters on the failure mode evolution process of the corroded pier were studied. The results show that the accuracy of the proposed discriminant model was significantly improved compared with those of previous theoretical studies. The development of the failure mode features depends on how the distinct RC pier material qualities degrade under the influence of chloride ions. The degradation of the stirrups and concrete accelerates the nonductile failure of RC bridge piers, while the degradation of the longitudinal reinforcements delays it.

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