Experimental and numerical investigation of the seismic behaviour of corroded precast concrete piers with grouting sleeve connections

Abstract

Due to several advantages, including controllable tolerance, accelerated construction and environmental friendliness, the grouting sleeve connections has been widely used in precast concrete pier structures. However, the seismic capacity of precast concrete piers would be significant impaired under the marine or deicing-salt environment. This article presents an experimental investigation on the seismic behaviour of corroded precast concrete piers with grouting sleeve connections. Five specimens with different corrosion levels were tested under cyclic loads. Seismic capacities of specimens with different corrosion levels, including hysteretic behaviour, stiffness degradation and energy-dissipation capacity, were analysed. The results showed that corrosion of reinforcements and grouting sleeve connections would significantly affect the seismic behaviour of the piers. The crack load, yield load and peak load decreased gradually with the increase of corrosion ratio, with the effect of corrosion on peak load being slightly greater than that on yield load. An approximate exponential decrease in yield displacement and peak displacement was observed as the corrosion ratio increased, and the decline rate in yield displacement and peak displacement gradually decreased. A numerical method for simulating the seismic behaviour of corroded precast concrete piers with grouting sleeve connections is proposed, and agreement between simulated and experimental results is observed.

Keywords:

• Precast concrete piers
• grouting sleeve connections
• corrosion
• external electric current
• cyclic loading test
• seismic behaviour
• numerical analysis

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Data availability statement

All data, models, or code that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

Additional information

Funding

The supports from the National Natural Science Foundation of China under grant No. 52125802 and No. 52208319 are gratefully acknowledged.