Abstract
Part of anxiety in the use of reinforced concrete columns with interlocking spirals for earthquake resistant structures has been due to the paucity of experimental study of test columns with interlocking spirals subjected to cyclic horizontal loading. In this paper, an experimental investigation into the behavior of reinforced concrete columns with interlocking spirals under cyclic loading is described. The behavior of the column sections with interlocking spirals under simulated severe earthquake loading was very satisfactory. Reinforced concrete columns with interlocking spirals are specified in the CALTRANS Bridge Design Specifications. The authors found through this experiment that the CALTRANS specification may not provide all the necessary information for using interlocking spirals, leaving room for further discussion.
