When reinforced-concrete columns are subjected to lateral cyclic loading, columns usually suffer failures at plastic hinges. If the buckling of longitudinal reinforcements at plastic hinges can be prevented or delayed, columns are expected to carry gravity loads at a higher ductility level. In this study, the rebar-restraining collar (RRC) was developed to improve the post-buckling behavior of longitudinal reinforcements. The behavior was investigated under monotonic loading tests of reinforcing bars with the RRCs and the cyclic loading tests of two reinforced-concrete bridge columns with and without RRCs. From the monotonic loading test, it was found that the RRCs significantly improved the post-yielding behavior of longitudinal reinforcing bars. The ductility and energy dissipation of longitudinal reinforcing bars with RRCs was significantly higher than that of the bare bar. Then, cyclic loading tests of two reinforced-concrete bridge columns were conducted. The cross section of columns was 0.4 m × 0.4 m, and the effective height was 2.15 m. The ratio of longitudinal reinforcing bars was 0.0123, and the volumetric ratio of transverse reinforcement was 0.00424. The column with RRCs did not have buckling of longitudinal reinforcements and had the ductility enhancement of about 17%, comparing to the column without RRCs. One evident benefit of using the RRCs is to control damage at plastic hinges of columns. Hence, the repair cost of columns after an earthquake can be reduced.
A new damage-control target displacement procedure for direct displacement-based design of circular reinforced concrete bridge pier
