Study on the seismic performance of prefabricated square pier with hollow interlayer

A prefabricated square pier with a hollow interlayer was proposed to reduce the weight and improve the seismic performance of prefabricated piers. Its seismic performance was evaluated by performing a series of quasi-static tests on three model piers: a cast-in-place square pier, prefabricated solid square pier, and prefabricated square pier with a hollow interlayer. The effects of the diameter and height of the hollow steel tube on the pier's seismic performance were investigated. The experimental results showed that the proposed design had reasonable seismic performance under the action of a low-cyclic reciprocating load. Thus, the embedded hollow steel tube positively impacted the overall seismic performance of the prefabricated pier. Increasing the diameter and height of the hollow steel tube could further improve the seismic performance of the proposed design; however, the influence of the height of the steel tube on the pier's seismic performance is more prominent.