Experimental Study of Pile-Soil Interaction of Integral Abutment Bridges with Low-Cyclic Lateral Load

Abstract

This paper experimentally investigates the mechanism and deformation of circular and rectangular reinforced concrete (RC) piles of integral abutment bridges (IAB). Pseudo-static tests of the RC piles under low-cyclic loading were conducted to simulate the periodic displacement of the IAB due to temperature changes. A lateral displacement load was applied on the pile head and the characteristics of energy dissipation, strain, bending moment, lateral displacement, and pile damage were analyzed. The results show that the ratio of reinforcement and the shape of the section significantly influence the energy dissipation and RC pile ductility. The ratio of reinforcement (1.6% to 3.2%) is suitable for the RC pile, providing excellent energy dissipation and ductility. The lateral resistance of the RC pile accounts for over 50% of the whole soil-pile system in the elastic stage. However, the resistance distribution of the surrounding soil of the pile is more than 50% in the latter stages. Furthermore, the performance of the circular RC pile was better than the rectangular one. It is recommended to use the circular pile in bridge design when the RC pile is used as the foundation of IABs, especially in areas with high seismic fortification levels.