Research on the Nonlinear Performance of the Pier under Horizontal Force

Usually, a large horizontal force will be generated to the pier in the construction process, which may induce significant influence on the pier‘s safety, especially in the case of the bridges with high piers and long span. Some cracks ermerged in the foot part of a pier in the construction stage and a horizontal force was believed to have been load on it, hence its reliability was douted.The pier was simulated with virtual laminated element program, and its mechanical performance under a horizontal force was calculated with both geometrical and material nonlinearity are considerd, thus its whole loading and failure process was illustrated and the pier’s safety was assessed.