EXPERIMENTAL INVESTIGATION ON SEISMIC PERFORMANCE OF RECTANGULAR-HOLLOW DOUBLE-COLUMN TALL PIERS WITH ENERGY DISSIPATION BEAMS

Based on the seismic resilience design concept, a rectangular-hollow double-column tall pier specimen and a rectangular hollow-double-column tall pier specimen with energy dissipation beams were designed and fabricated with the scale of 1/20. The pseudo-static tests were conducted on both specimens under low cycle loads. The failure patterns and process were discussed. The seismic behaviors of specimens, such as strength, cumulative hysteretic energy, curvature and displacement ductility, were compared. The experimental results show that compared with the rectangular-hollow double-column tall pier, the rectangular-hollow double-column tall pier with energy dissipation beams has better energy dissipation capacity, bearing capacity and displacement ductility capacity. Moreover, the energy dissipation beams can significantly mitigate the curvature of column so that the column can be effectively protected from the seismic damage. Consequently, the rectangular-hollow double-column tall pier with energy dissipation beams has a better seismic performance than the rectangular-hollow double-column tall pier.