ABSTRACT
Behavior of steel tubular bridge piers stiffened with inner cruciform plates was studied experimentally and theoretically. A total of five specimens with inner cruciform plates and unstiffened plates were tested under a constant compressive axial load and cyclic horizontal loads. Elasto-plastic and large displacement numerical analyses were carried out using the finite element package MARC. The effects of inner cruciform plates on the strength and ductility of steel bridge piers were investigated where the height of the inner cruciform plate was varied in the tubular section bridge piers. It was found that the tubular bridge piers stiffened with inner cruciform plates show better performance than ordinary piers in regard to ductility and strength.
