###### Abstract  
To study the seismic performance of self-centering circular-section rocking steel bridge piers whose functions can be restored after an earthquake, a high-precision finite element (FE) analysis model of such a bridge piers was established. The hysteresis behavior of concrete-infilled and hollow rocking steel bridge piers was compared. In response to the characteristics of the local deformation of the wall plates and elliptical deformation of the bottom surface, two reinforcement methods for the pier bottom, namely thickening the wall plate and adding longitudinal stiffeners in the plastic zone of the pier bottom, were proposed. The pseudo static analysis of bridge piers was carried out considering the effects of overall design parameters and reinforcement parameters of the pier bottom. The results indicate that the FE model used in this paper can obtain accurate horizontal load-displacement curves of rocking steel bridge piers. The hysteresis curves of the rocking steel bridge piers and infilled concrete rocking steel bridge piers is close, and directly using hollow steel bridge piers can improve the economic efficiency of the design. Compared to adding longitudinal stiffeners, the reinforcement form of thickened wall plates at the pier bottom has a better effect in improving the seismic performance of bridge piers. The reinforcement of the pier bottom has little effect on the energy dissipation capacity of the bridge pier, but it helps to reduce residual displacement and improve lateral stiffness. b 2023 13 9108 1  
repair ability performance of prestressed rocking bridge piers. [PERSON] et al. [12] found through experimental studies that externally installed buckling-resistant energy-dissipating steel plates significantly enhance the energy dissipation capability of bridge piers compared to externally installed energy-dissipating steel rods. However, the pier bodies of existing reinforced concrete rocking bridge piers have relatively weak energy dissipation and an anti-toppling capacity. Some scholars have conducted research on concrete-filled rocking bridge piers with better ductility performance. For example, [PERSON] et al. [13] conducted pseudo-static comparative tests on prestressed rocking concrete-filled steel bridge piers, prestressed rocking reinforced concrete piers, and socket prestressed concrete-filled steel bridge piers. It was found that the prestressed rocking concrete-filled steel bridge pier exhibited the best seismic performance. [PERSON] et al. [14] performed numerical simulation analysis on prestressed concrete-filled steel bridge piers under three different boundary conditions, which are hinged connection, semi-rigid connection and rigid connection. In addition, other scholars have conducted seismic performance tests on segmentally assembled prestressed rocking concrete-filled steel bridge piers [15,16]. Compared to reinforced concrete and concrete-filled steel bridge piers, hollow steel structure piers can not only avoid local crushing of concrete, but also have advantages such as lightweight, high strength, and environmental sustainability. In recent years, [PERSON] et al. [17], [PERSON] et al. [18, 19, 20], [PERSON] et al. [21], and [PERSON] et al. [22] proposed ductile design methods for steel bridge piers, filling the gap in seismic research on steel bridge piers in China. [PERSON] et al. [23, 24, 25] studied the seismic performance of self-centering rocking steel bridge piers by conducting pseudo-static tests and finite element (FE) calculations for the first time. They found that properly designed piers exhibit excellent ductility and resilience. However, elliptical deformation at the bottom surface and local buckling deformation at the plastic damaged zone may occur, which affect the seismic performance and post-earthquake repair ability of the piers. Currently, this new type of pier structures is both seismic resilient and cost-effective, which makes it promising for application in high-intensity seismic areas.