Structural/Earthquake Engineering Laboratory Department of Civil Engineering, Nagoya Institute of Technology
3D Online Structural Experiment and Numerical Method for Assessing Seismic Performance of Bridge Piers and Columns

Objective

・ Examine experimentally the seismic performance of thin-walled steel bridge piers under bidirectional cyclic loads.

・Develop numerical methods based on nonlinear FEM to assess the stability and ductility of steel structures under cyclic loading.

3D Pseudo-dynamic Testing System
・3D loading
・Loading system made of 3 actuators and loading transmitting device of a unique 3D hinge （±450kN×3, Stroke: 250mm)
・Input of earthquake wave controlled by computer
・3D loading system: First in the world
Outline of Experiment Specimen and Numerical Model

Vertical：load control=constant
（Axial force ratio α＝0.15）

Horizontal 2 directions： displacement control
（Cyclic diamond loading)

Diamond loading
Outline of Analysis
FEM software: ABAQUS Constitutive model: 3 surface cyclic plasticity model (user subroutine) Nonlinear analysis using shell element
Comparison Between Experimental and FEM Results

Horizontal load-horizontal displacement
Deformed shape of column baseDeformed shape of ribs
Experiment
Analysis

Vertical displ.-horizontal disp.