Test and Finite Element Analysis of an "Aluminium – Lightweight Concrete" Composite Girder

Abstract

A study has been initiated in order to develop and evaluate an aluminiumlightweight concrete (ALLC) composite girder to be used in a Polish bridge rehabilitation program. On the basis of an overview of the previous aluminium composite bridge projects and the Eurocode (EC) 9 requirements, a design for a small bridge has been prepared. According to this design the geometrical parameters of a test girder have been established, tests have been carried out on this girder and a FEM (Finite Element) numerical model has also been developed. The first part of the research project, reported in this paper, dealt with the evaluation of the load carrying capacity of an ALLC girder under service load. The test data have been used to validate the FEM model. After its validation, the FEM numerical model has been applied for the prediction of the ultimate bending capacity of the ALLC girder. The results of this prediction are presented in this paper.

Aluminium members in composite structures – a review

“…The authors presented a method for designing this type of composite beams taking into account the limit values of strains. However, many of currently used aluminium alloys have good ductility, e.g., in the tests presented by Siwowski [59], the 5083 aluminium alloy had an elongation of 30%.…”

“…Siwowski [59] also used bolts as shear connectors in his tests on an aluminiumlightweight concrete composite beam (Table 3). The reinforced concrete slab in the beam was made of lightweight concrete with Lytag lightweight aggregate, while the girder was made of aluminium alloy (Table 3).…”

Prospects and Problems of Using Aluminum Alloys in the Construction of Bridges in the Russian Federation

“…Важной особенностью использования алюминиевых сплавов при реконструкции существующих мостов является технология замены сталежелезобетонных плит проезжей части на алюминиевую плиту [13], что позволяет в несколько раз снизить вес конструкции при значительном увеличении грузоподъемности реконструируемого моста.…”