Abstract
Hinge support steel rigid frame piers used in the important railway bridges that cross another railway or roads are needed to verify the seismic behavior. These piers are characterized by a) hinge support at the bases of columns, b) flange and web that are continuous by the beam-to-column connection, c) diaphragm that is diagonally attached at the comer connection panel, d) concrete filled inside the column members and e) cross section getting smaller toward the bases of the columns. In this study, we conducted the cyclic loading tests on the full-scale rigid frame specimen removed from real bridge used on Tokaido-Sinkansen for thirty-five years to verify the elasto-plastic behavior. Prior to this test, we measured the stress range caused by a trainload to clarify the existing of fatigue cracks and investigated whether the quality of manufacturing was appropriate, because initial crakes and quality of weld seriously influence the seismic performance. Furthermore, we investigated on the performance of the hinge supports that were damaged by cyclic-loading tests to verify the influence of the hinge supports on the seismic performance of the piers.
