Bridge Piers with Structural Fuses and Bi-Steel Columns. I: Experimental Testing

Abstract

Structural fuses, easily replaceable sacrificial elements to dissipate seismic energy while preventing damage to the gravity load-resisting structural system, are proposed as part of a multicolumn accelerated bridge construction (ABC) pier concept. Different types of structural fuses are investigated to compare the effect of each on ABC bridge bents. The piers of a three span-continuous bridge prototypes having two twin-column pier bents were designed using double-composite rectangular columns and structural fuses. Two corresponding