Abstract
Reinforced concrete bridge columns with hollow section subjected to inelastic cyclic loading during an earthquake have been reported to suffer from the damage at not only outside face but inside face, where is invisible at the bridge inspection. Therefore it is important in the seismic design to determine the acceptable limit-state for the RC hollow columns in terms of inspectability and repairability. However there are few researches on the seismic performance of the RC hollow columns, particularly with high longitudinal steel ratio and high axial loading.
In this research, the failure mechanism of the RC hollow columns at both outside and inside faces was clarified based on the cyclic loading tests for scaled-model columns and the effect of axial load on the seismic performance of the RC hollow columns was also examined. Test results showed that the position of the neutral axis significantly affected the failure mechanism of the RC hollow columns.
