Strength and Ductility Evaluation Method for Steel Bridge Pier Frames Considering Effect of Shear Failure

Abstract

This paper presents a practical evaluation method for predictions of strength and ductility capacity of steel bridge pier frames including effects of shear failure. The shearing behavior of structure is simulated by introducing membrane and truss elements at the mid-span of girder. In order to investigate the effects of shear failure on the strength and ductility capacity, a series of pushover analyses are carried out, comparisons between different methods are conducted and effects of sensitive parameters are discussed. From these investigations and discussions, the availability of the shear ductility prediction method proposed in this study is verified, especially for the unstiffened cases with large web width-thickness ratio of girder. Furthermore, a boundary between bending and shear failure modes is obtained based on discussions.