Abstract
Current seismic design provisions for bridge pier walls limit their in-plane response to the elastic range, which may lead to safety problems and increased costs. Statistical and numerical studies were carried out to develop a complete design procedure that employs the in-plane ductility capacity of pier walls. New values for the displacement ductility demand are proposed based on published experimental data, and a new expression for estimating the ideal yield curvature of pier wall sections based on sectional parameters and axial load level is recommended. Finally, a new displacement-based design procedure for pier walls that leads to a direct estimate of the steel reinforcement ratio and employs their in-plane ductility capacity is presented. Finite element analyses of the designed pier walls show that the new design procedure can result in enhanced performance under seismic loading with lower reinforcement ratios.