Abstract
In this study the effect on the seismic resistance of steel pipe piers of the existence of two different sections, the thickness of pipe plate, loading patterns, and weld residual stresses, were studied. The specimens were made by two different sections, representing actual bridge piers. The elastic-plastic behaviour of steel pipe piers under the following conditions are discussed by experiment, response and FEM analysis. Three different loading histories were used in the experiment, increasing loading monotonically, increasing loading cyclically between tension and compression and pseudo dynamic loading with ground motion data of the Hanshin-Awaji earthquake. As a result, it was found that the modes of buckling and hysterisis curves are strongly influenced by the existence of two different sections and by the loading patterns.
