Piers and Columns

Piers and Columns 27.1 27.2 27.3 27.4 Jinrong Wang URS Greiner 27 Introduction Structural Types General • Selection Criteria Design Loads Live Loads • Thermal Forces Design Criteria Overview • Slenderness and Second-Order Effect • Concrete Piers and Columns • Steel and Composite Columns 27.1 Introduction Piers provide vertical supports for spans at intermediate points and perform two main functions: transferring superstructure vertical loads to the foundations and resisting horizontal forces acting on the bridge. Although piers are traditionally designed to resist vertical loads, it is becoming more and more common to design piers to resist high lateral loads caused by seismic events. Even in some low seismic areas, designers are...