09.18: Innovative composite deck slab for railway bridges: Analysis of the fatigue behaviour of the shear connectors using the strain‐life method

Abstract

At Vienna University of Technology, Institute of Structural Engineering, a new, extremely slender steel-concrete-steel composite (SCSC) plate is under investigation to meet the requirements of today´s standards related to the geometric conditions and noise emission in the substitution of old railway bridges. The layered construction consists of two steel cover plates with an unreinforced concrete core. Perforated shear connectors, welded alternately to the outer steel plates, work together to ensure the transmission of the shear flow between the outer plates. In addition to the distribution of the traffic load in cross direction, the SCSC deck slab also acts as main girder bottom flanges in longitudinal direction of the bridge construction. After the examination of the static load bearing capacity in former research programs [1,2], the current investigations are focussed on the fatigue behaviour of the shear connector of the SCSC plate. In the course of research a nonlinear, three-dimensional finite element model served as the basis for a lifetime calculation using the local strain-life method. The aim was to investigate the relation between the range of traffic load and the bearable number of load cycles of the SCSC plate till crack initiation in the shear connectors. This paper provides an overview of the approaches used to calculate fatigue life and gives a brief summary of the results.

Predicting fatigue life of shear connectors in steel‐concrete composite bridges using artificial intelligence techniques

“…Many studies have worked on other shear connectors such as rubber-sleeve shear connectors, 10 perfobond rib shear connectors, 11 channel shear connectors, angle shear connectors, Y-type perfobond rib shear connectors, 12 perforated shear connectors, 13 blind bolt shear connectors, 9 and adhesive anchor shear connectors, to name a few. 14,15 Load tests were conducted to verify composite action at the steel-concrete interface after the retrofit and compared the structural behavior of the bridge before and after the retrofit. Many older steel bridges have noncomposite steel girders.…”

“…Many studies have worked on other shear connectors such as rubber‐sleeve shear connectors, 10 perfobond rib shear connectors, 11 channel shear connectors, angle shear connectors, Y‐type perfobond rib shear connectors, 12 perforated shear connectors, 13 blind bolt shear connectors, 9 and adhesive anchor shear connectors, to name a few 14,15 …”