Abstract：Based on the prototype of a new type of hollow concrete-filled steel exterior wall composite bridge tower, four hollow concrete-filled steel exterior wall composite column specimens were prepared. According to axial compression tests, the failure patterns of the specimens were investigated, and the influences of concrete strength, thickness of steel plate, connector type on the performance of composite tower column were analyzed. By using the commercial software ABAQUS, the influences of structure type and design parameters (such as concrete strength, strength of steel plate and thickness of steel plate) on the performance of composite tower column were studied. The results show that, the hollow concrete-filled steel exterior wall composite bridge tower has excellent bearing capacity and ductility, close to those of the hollow concrete-filled steel interior-exterior wall composite tower column, but evidently superior to the ordinary reinforced concrete columns; the strategies of increasing the strength of concrete, the strength and thickness of steel plate can be employed to improve the bearing capacity of the composite tower column, but the improvement of structural stiffness may not be increased obviously. The research results can be referred by the design of long-span bridges.
