Side shear strength and load-transfer mechanism of corrugated steel column–foundation socket connection

Accelerated bridge construction has received widespread attention globally owing to its cost-effectiveness. The integrity of the connections between precast bridge piers and other members of the structure is crucial for developing assembly substructures. This issue was examined in the present study. A novel corrugated steel tube socket connection (CSSC) was developed for column–foundation connections. The CSSC method is a rapid bridge construction method in which a prefabricated corrugated steel tubular concrete column and a corrugated steel pipe in the foundation are connected using concrete or ultra-high-performance concrete. A vertical monotonic static load experiment was performed on six CSSC specimens and one cast-in-place (CIP) specimen to investigate the slip performance, failure modes, and load-transfer mechanism. The side shear performances was compared among specimens with different parameters (connection method, embedment depth, presence of studs, and presence of concrete under the columns). The experimental results indicated that the CSSC specimens had better ductility values and higher axial bearing capacities than the CIP specimen. Increasing the embedment depth, adding studs, and adding concrete under the columns increased the ultimate bearing capacity. To accurately estimate the side shear performance of the CSSC, a reliable finite-element model was developed. An additional parametric analysis was performed to investigate the effects of different parameters on the vertical performance. The CSSC is effective connection type in the prefabricated column-foundation connection and is suitable for bridge high-gravity superstructures. Finally, design recommendations regarding the construction details of the CSSC were presented.