Development of reinforced concrete column with replaceable plastic hinge based on metabolism concept

Abstract

To update seismic performance and rapidly restore the transportation capacity of a bridge following an earthquake, this study introduces a new reinforced concrete (RC) column, termed “Metabolic RC column, ” which incorporates the Design for Disassembly and Metabolism Movement concepts. The proposed column features a plastic hinge comprising a permanent hinge and replaceable plastic zones. A Mesnager hinge is employed as the permanent hinge to resist the axial loads within the column cross section. In addition, cast-in-place RC members are used in replaceable plastic zones to dissipate the seismic energy. By replacing the plastic zone with an equivalent or superior alternative while the permanent hinge continues to carry the axial forces, the updating (i.e., metabolization) of the column seismic performance can be achieved without interrupting the daily operations of the structure. The feasibility of replacing plastic hinges while maintaining the resistance to axial loads was demonstrated through plastic zone replacement tests. Cyclic loading tests indicated that the maximum lateral load of the proposed Metabolic RC Column remained unchanged before and after the plastic zone replacement. The energy dissipated also remained nearly consistent before and after the plastic zone replacement. The largest reduction in dissipated energy at each displacement amplitude was approximately 6.7 % before and after replacement. Additionally, the cyclic loading tests emphasized the importance of minimizing damage to the permanent hinge and preventing the axial stiffness reduction to ensure maximum load capacity of the column after plastic zone replacement. Further, a numerical model was developed to replicate the load-displacement relationship of the specimens. The proposed model accurately calculated the maximum load of the specimen with an average error of approximately 3 % for each displacement amplitude and the dissipated energy with an error of approximately 6 %. The numerical analysis effectively captured the changes in the secondary stiffness of the columns before and after plastic zone replacement, attributing the differences in secondary stiffness to the reduced tensile forces exerted by the permanent hinge rebar.