Development of Pipe Pile to Bent Cap Connection for ALDOT Bridges

Details

• Creators:
  Isbiliroglu, Levent ; Calderon, Maria Emilia Clavijo ; Sener, Kadir C. ; Barnes, Robert W.
• Corporate Creators:
  Auburn University. Highway Research Center
• Corporate Contributors:
  Alabama. Department of Transportation ; United States. Department of Transportation. Federal Highway Administration
• Subject/TRT Terms:
  Bents Bridge Construction Concrete Bridges Mechanical Rings Plugs (Fillers) Reinforcing Bars Steel Pipe Stiffness Structural Connection Stud Connectors Support Piles Surveys

  More +
• Publication/ Report Number:
  931-100
• Resource Type:
  Tech Report
• Geographical Coverage:
  United States ; Alabama
• Corporate Publisher:
  Auburn University. Highway Research Center
• Abstract:
  Steel pipe piles are a promising alternative to traditional H-piles and drilled shafts for ALDOT bridge substructures because they can achieve high force and moment capacity and enable more efficient construction. However, current guidance on steel pipe pile–to–reinforced concrete bent cap connections is limited, and practices among state DOTs vary widely in embedment length, connection detailing, and assumed fixity. This project was undertaken to develop and evaluate practical, code-compliant connection details that can support consistent design assumptions and potential standardization. An extensive survey of state DOTs regarding their steel pipe pile use and pipe pile–to–bent cap connection detailing practices was first conducted. Based on the survey results, an experimental program was designed to quantify the lateral-load behavior of large-diameter steel pipe pile–to–bent cap connections representative of common DOT practices. Five full-scale connection configurations were tested under repeated lateral loading with three rebar-based systems (headed, hooked, and straight bars) utilizing shallow embedment of 1 ft, and two mechanical anchorage systems (headed stud and annular ring) utilizing deeper embedment of 2–3 ft. For the rebar-based configurations, concrete plug depth was governed by reinforcement development/anchorage demands, while the mechanical anchorage configurations were evaluated with reduced plug depths. All configurations sustained the maximum applied loads without failure; all tests were terminated due to equipment limits rather than specimen capacity. The mechanical anchorage systems exhibited higher stiffness than the shallow rebar systems by about 2 times. The rebar-based systems exceeded their calculated nominal flexural strengths by at least 1.8 times. Embedment lengths on the order of one-third of the pile diameter provided a reasonable moment transfer, indicating that idealized “pinned” assumptions may not be applicable for hollow pipe piles. This report provides comparative experimental data and an implementation appendix (Appendix C) that supports selection and detailing of steel pipe pile–to–bent cap connections for ALDOT bridges. The findings further establish a foundation for future research to refine and optimize the design methodology of favorable connection configurations and further extend the methodology to pile-cap connections.
• Format:
  PDF
• Collection(s):
  US Transportation Collection
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:7077227735488093a4e252beadbe8c330403e3992c5e049b5b597aea5782f393dcd5ccb66cac003d1cd5f2ba2ef138dfe97a1536fd5591cadf3f67350927d441
• Download URL:
  https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/90745/dot_90745_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 8.85 MB ]