Experimental study on behavior of tri-directional prestressed composite bridge column under low cyclic loading

To improve the seismic behavior of composite column with high strength concrete-filled steel tubular in bridge engineering, four column specimens, including one specimen with vertical prestressing force and three specimens with tri-directional prestressing force, were conducted under low cyclic loading. Test parameters including axial compression ratio, degree of vertical prestressing and existence of prestressed steel strips were emphatically analyzed. Experimental results revealed that applying tri-directional prestressing force to column with high strength concrete-filled steel tubular produced more beneficial behavior in terms of ductility, energy-dissipation and self-centering capacity over that of specimens only with vertical prestress. Moreover, ultimate bearing capacity of composite column was improved with increase of degree of vertical prestress and external axial force, while ductility would be reduced. External axial force showed slight influence on the self-centering behavior. Finally, a calculation equation for predicting the shear capacity of the tri-directional prestressed composite column was proposed and the accuracy of the calculated results validated by experimental data.