Experiment and Simulation on the Anticollision Performance of a New Corrugated Steel Protection System for Bridge Piers

To ensure the safety of ships and bridges at the same time during collisions, a new type of bridge pier protection system is proposed, in which one is composed of corrugated steel plates, bolts, and corrugated steel pipes (CSP), and the other is composed of ordinary steel plates, bolts, and corrugated steel pipes (OSP). To study their anticollision performance, a pendulum impact test and numerical simulation were carried out. Comparing the test results with the simulation results, it was shown that the simulation results are basically consistent with the test results. Then, the influence curves of the impact velocity, specimen thickness, weight, and frequency are analysed to evaluate the anticollision performance of CSP/OSP and optimize their structure. When the impact energy is low, the peak values of the lateral impact force and lateral displacement of the column equipped with OSP are all smaller than those of the column equipped with CSP. When the impact energy is high, the peak values of the lateral impact force and lateral displacement of the column equipped with OSP are larger than those of the column equipped with CSP. However, under the same impact energy, the total energy peak value of the CSP specimen is larger than that of the OSP specimen. Results can provide a certain numerical analysis basis for the structural design and research of new types of corrugated steel protection system for bridge pier.