Tests of New Box Steel Replaceable Piers Under Axial Compression

A new recoverable box steel bridge column with bottom replaceable piers was proposed. The axial compressive tests were initially performed on fourteen specimens which have three different types of steel replaceable piers. Results demonstrate that all three types of structural measures improve the specimens’ strength and deformation performance. Compared to the installing of the low yield point steel plates, the embedded shell plates and the longitudinal ribs on the box walls result in a greater increase of the specimens’ bearing capacity and ductile performance. When the specimen has the longitudinal ribs installed on the box walls and the smaller space of transverse stiffeners, its bearing capacity is increased. The specimens’ ductility is improved when the space of transverse stiffeners and the height of low yield point steel plates decrease. The specimens’ bearing capacity and ductility are only slightly affected by the variation of the embedded shell’s radian. Finally, a simplified calculation formula for the axial compressive bearing capacity of the bottom replaceable piers is proposed.