Abstract
Over the years, precast bent cap systems have been used on a variety of bridges to meet project goals. These systems can accelerate construction, reduce environmental impacts, improve worker safety, and provide more durable and economic structures. Currently, minimal guidance is provided to engineers who design such systems, and this limited guidance has led to a wide variety of systems being used. Traditionally, connections made between precast members are the biggest uncertainty related to their performance. Adequate performance of these connections is essential in order to achieve satisfactory system behavior over time under any loading situation; however, their performance can greatly affect the behavior of precast bent cap systems during seismic events. A better understanding of system and connection behavior during strong ground motion is required in order to ensure good long-term performance and to facilitate the widespread use of these innovative systems. A review of current practice was conducted as a part of the recently funded National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) Project 12–74, "Development of Precast Bent Cap Systems for Seismic Regions." Information obtained through these efforts is provided in this paper, as well as a discussion of work which is needed in order to provide design engineers with tools that can be used to confidently design precast bent cap systems in all seismic regions.