Abstract
Rebar cages are the skeletons of reinforced concrete columns formed by connecting the longitudinal to the transverse reinforcement with tie wire connections. The collapse of several bridge rebar cages recently showed the need to establish guidelines to enhance the lateral stability of these temporary structures. The results of experimental and analytical studies on the stability of bridge column rebar cages are presented in this paper. An experimental investigation was conducted on two full-scale rebar cages to determine their lateral behavior and to calibrate nonlinear computational models. Using these calibrated models, the effects of various cage parameters on the lateral stability of rebar cages were investigated. Based on this investigation, it was concluded that the internal bracings provide the significant component of the cage lateral stiffness and strength. Guidelines to improve the lateral stability of column rebar cages are proposed.