ANALYTICAL METHODS AND EXPERIMENTAL VALIDATION OF SEISMIC PERFORMANCE OF A TWIN-COLUMN PIER WITH SHEAR BEAM

Based on pseudo-static tests of a twin-column pier with shear beam, the concentrated plastic hinge and fiber element methods are established to analyze the seismic performance of the twin-column pier with shear beam. The numerical seismic performance results are compared with the experimental results including hysteretic curve, skeleton curve, and dissipation energy capacity of the twin-column pier, and hysteretic curve and dissipation energy capacity of the shear beam. The comparison shows that the seismic performance of the twin-column pier with shear beam from the concentrated plastic hinge and fiber element methods are significantly consistent with the experimental results; the concentrated plastic hinge method and fiber element method can effectively predict decreases in strength and dissipation energy and the degraded unloading stiffness of the twin-column pier with shear beam when it reaches the maximum load; both numerical methods are effective and feasible on analyzing the seismic performance of the twin-column pier with shear beam.