Solid and Hollow Section RC Bridge Piers under Uniaxial Loading: Hollow Section Reinforced Concrete Pier Load Capacity

Hollow section reinforced concrete columns (HRC) have been used as piers for bridges and form of supports for heavy structures where compression load is critical. HRC in comparison with equivalent solid section provides high load-carrying capacity, torsional stiffness, and large reduction in self-weight, high strength-mass ratio, stiffness-mass ratio, and reduction in mass contribution to seismic response. It is also used (not often) in buildings to allow internal passage of sewer or utility pipes (improved aesthetics). Several works has shown that the Hollow section reinforced (HRC) column has greater load capacity than the equivalent solid section even when the area of concrete is equal. Therefore, the conventional load capacity formula for solid section column may not be appropriate to predict the capacity of HRC of an equal area of concrete. Empirical formula is proposed to predict the capacity of HRC based on the conventional load capacity of an equivalent solid section.