Experimental Investigation of an Earthquake-Resistant Steel Bridge Substructure System

The grouted shear stud connection has been experimentally shown to provide two-column steel bridge bent systems with seismic resistance. It achieves this by relocating the plastic hinging to the column section, thereby mobilizing the full strength and ductility of the steel columns. However, to be able to carry out displacement-based design procedure, accurate estimation of system displacements is necessary and no such models currently exist for these substructure systems. In this study, a fiber-based numerical model and an approximate hand calculation model are developed that can estimate the full force–displacement response of these systems. These models were developed by first carrying out cyclic pushover experiments on large-scale two-column bridge bent specimens and subsequently calibrating numerical models, which were able to simulate experimental structural response.