ABSTRACT
After Hyogo-ken Nanbu Earthquake, such design concept that the small damage of structures can be allowed but their collapse must be prevented has been generally accepted. There-fore, it is very important to clearly grasp the mechanism of damage and failure for the structures under strong earthquake action. The damage and collapse of structures can be perfectly understood by clarifying not only the strength performance but also the ductility and energy absorption characteristics. In this paper, the deformation capacity and energy absorption performance of steel bridge piers under strong earthquake action are clarified by the seismic reliability analysis, that the safety level of steel bridge piers can be judged.
