scholarly journals An Enhanced UHPC-Grout Shear Connection for Steel-Concrete Composite Bridges with Precast Decks

2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 ◽  
pp. 1-15
Author(s):  
Yongtao Zhang ◽  
Hehui Zheng ◽  
Minghao Tang ◽  
Zhiqi He

This article develops an enhanced UHPC-grout shear connection for steel-concrete composite bridges with precast decks. The primary improvement is the use of ultra-high performance concrete (UHPC) as the connection grout. To validate the constructability and the mechanical performance of the new connection, two series of experimental tests (including grouting tests and push-out tests) were conducted. Results from the grouting tests show that both the pressure grouting method and the self-levelling grouting method are applicable to inject the UHPC grout into the channel void of the connection. Results from the push-out tests indicate that the advanced properties of UHPC allow for a significant improvement of the shear resistance of the adhesive connection over traditional cementitious grouts. The ultimate shear capacity of the adhesive connection is controlled by the interface shear strength between the embossed steel and the UHPC grout, with a cohesion value of approximately 5.87 MPa. Meanwhile, the residual frictional resistance can be taken as approximately one-half of the ultimate resistance. The results of the finite-element analysis show that the trilinear model is reasonable to simulate the shear-slip laws of the embossed steel-grout interface and the rough concrete-grout interface.

Buildings ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 182
Author(s):  
Zhi-Qi He ◽  
Changxue Ou ◽  
Fei Tian ◽  
Zhao Liu

This paper develops a new type of shear connection for steel-concrete composite bridges using Ultra-High Performance Concrete (UHPC) as the connection grout. The UHPC-grout strip shear connection is fabricated by preforming a roughened slot in the concrete deck slab, welding an embossed steel rib longitudinally to the upper flange of the steel girder, and casting the strip void between the slot and the steel rib with UHPC grout. The structural performance of the new connection was validated by two sets of experimental tests, including push-out testing of shear connectors and static and fatigue testing of composite beams. The results of push-out testing indicate that the UHPC-grout strip shear connection exhibits a significant improvement of ductility, ultimate capacity, and fatigue performance. The interface shear strength of the UHPC-grout strip connection is beyond 15 MPa, which is about three times that of the strip connection using traditional cementitious grouts. The ultimate capacity of the connection is dominated by the interface failure between the embossed steel and the UHPC grout. The results of composite-beam testing indicate that full composite action is developed between the precast decks and the steel beams, and the composite action remained intact after testing for two million load cycles. Finally, the trail design of a prototype bridge shows that this new connection has the potential to meet the requirements for horizontal shear.


2020 ◽  
Vol 23 (16) ◽  
pp. 3401-3414
Author(s):  
Yuqing Hu ◽  
Huiguang Yin ◽  
Xiaomeng Ding ◽  
Shuai Li ◽  
JQ Wang

In this article, the static shear behavior of large-headed studs embedded in ultra-high-performance concrete was investigated by push-out test and numerical analysis. A total of nine push-out specimens with single and grouped studs embedded in ultra-high-performance concrete and normal strength concrete slabs were tested. In the testing process, only shank failure appeared without cracks occurring on the surface of ultra-high-performance concrete slab when the steel–ultra-high-performance concrete specimens reached ultimate shear capacity. The shear capacity of specimens with large studs embedded in ultra-high-performance concrete slab increased by 10.6% compared those in normal concrete, and the current design codes such as Eurocode4, AASHTO LFRD 2014, and GB50017-2003 all underestimate the shear capacity of such kind of steel–ultra-high-performance concrete composite structures according to experimental results. Numerical models were established using ABAQUS with introducing damage plasticity material model. The influence of stud diameter, concrete strength, thickness of clear cover, and spacing of studs on the static shear behavior was thoroughly investigated via parametric analysis. Based on the experimental and numerical analysis, the existence of wedge block and the decrease of axis force are beneficial for improving the shear capacity of stud shear connectors.


2022 ◽  
Author(s):  
Linyun Zhou ◽  
Shui Wan

Abstract Ultra-high performance concrete (UHPC) has been gradually used in structure engineering due to its excellent mechanical performance, however, predicting the shear capacity of the UHPC beams is still a challenge, especially for the beams with small shear span to depth ratios. To address this issue, this paper devotes to developing a rational model to predict the shear capacity of the UHPC beams with stirrups based on the modified compression field theory (MCFT) and plastic theory. The shear force will be balanced by the stirrups, matrix, fibers and shear compression zone. The contribution of stirrups, matrix and fibers on shear capacity can be predicted by MCFT, and the contribution of compression zone is determined based on plastic theory. 12 UHPC beams was designed and tested to validate the proposed model. It can be found that the predictions agree well with test results, while the current design codes, including SETRA-AFGC and SIA, give overly conservative values for UHPC beams when the shear to span is less than 2.5.


2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (2-3) ◽  
pp. 61-74
Author(s):  
Sahar Ghasemi ◽  
Amir Mirmiran ◽  
Yulin Xiao ◽  
Kevin Mackie

A super lightweight deck can enhance load rating and functionality of a bridge, especially those identified as structurally deficient. This study was aimed to develop and experimentally validate a novel bridge deck as an ultra-lightweight low-profile waffle slab of ultra-high-performance concrete (UHPC) with either carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) or high strength steel (HSS) reinforcement. The proposed system lends itself to accelerated bridge construction, rapid deck replacement in bridges with load restrictions, and bridge widening applications without the need to replace girders. Performance and failure modes of the proposed deck were initially assessed through extensive lab experiments and finite element analysis, which together confirmed that the proposed deck panel meets the AASHTO LRFD requirements. The proposed deck system is not susceptible to punching shear of its thin slab and fails in a rather ductile manner. To evaluate its long-term performance, the system was further tested under the dynamic impact of wheel load at the Accelerated Pavement Testing (APT) facility of the Florida Department of Transportation using a Heavy Vehicle Simulator (HVS).


Materials ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (14) ◽  
pp. 3781
Author(s):  
Tianyu Wang ◽  
Yahong Zhao ◽  
Baosong Ma ◽  
Cong Zeng

The acid–alkaline-inducd corrosive environments inside wastewater concrete pipelines cause concrete structural deterioration and substantial economic losses all over the world. High-performance concrete/mortar (HPC) was designed to have better resistance to corrosive environments, with enhanced service life. However, the durability of HPC in wastewater pipeline environments has rarely been studied. A high-performance mortar mixture (M) reinforced by supplemental materials (including fly ash and silica fume) and polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) fibers, together with a mortar mixture (P) consisting of cement, sand and water with similar mechanical performance, were both designed and exposed to simulated wastewater pipeline environments. The visual appearance, dimensional variation, mass loss, mechanical properties, permeable pore volume, and microstructure of the specimens were measured during the corrosion cycles. More severe deterioration was observed when the alkaline environment was introduced into the corrosion cycles. Test results showed that the M specimens had less permeable pore volume, better dimensional stability, and denser microstructure than the P specimens under acid–alkaline-induced corrosive environments. The mass-loss rates of the M specimens were 66.1–77.2% of the P specimens after 12 corrosion cycles. The compressive strength of the M specimens was 25.5–37.3% higher than the P specimens after 12 cycles under corrosive environments. Hence, the high-performance mortar examined in this study was considered superior to traditional cementitious materials for wastewater pipeline construction and rehabilitation.


Author(s):  
C. Xu ◽  
B. Y. Zhang ◽  
Z. H. Hou

<p>The application of high performance concrete has been increasingly concerned in the negative flexural region of steel‐concrete continuous composite girder because of its favorable tensile performance. However, the unclear cyclic and ultimate performance of a high performance concrete composite girder results to the problems which hinder the further application. In this case, a series of fatigue negative bending tests on HPC composite girders and fatigue push‐out tests on stud connectors in HPC were executed. The test results showed that the fatigue slip in the HPC composite girder was smaller than the normal concrete composite girder, and the fatigue life of stud in HPC was longer than the one in normal concrete. Meanwhile, according to the comparison between the stud fatigue live evaluations and test results, the AASHTO‐based evaluations were comparatively with larger safety redundancy, and JSCE was close to the test results but had smaller safety redundancy.</p>


2016 ◽  
Vol 711 ◽  
pp. 1027-1034 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adriano Reggia ◽  
Sara Sgobba ◽  
Fabio Macobatti ◽  
Cristina Zanotti ◽  
Fausto Minelli ◽  
...  

After more than fifty years from the opening of the largely discussed “Autostrada del Sole” Highway in 1964, the infrastructure system in Italy appears marked by the passing of time, similarly to what observed in several other countries worldwide. The great heterogeneity of the Italian landscape has determined a great variety of construction types, such as large span concrete bridges over the northern rivers and large arch concrete bridges over the valleys of the central region. Increment of vehicle traffic and new seismic regulations are setting new requirements to adapt the existing infrastructure, which should be otherwise replaced. Moreover, reinforced concrete (RC) aging and deterioration have led to structural and material degradation, including severe cracking and corrosion. Specialized materials such as High Performance Concrete (HPC) could represent a viable convenient solution for repairing, strengthening and retrofitting of RC structures as both structural capacity and durability can be refurbished. However, alongside high mechanical performance, HPC is characterized by a high cracking sensitivity at very early age, due to its high stiffness and shrinkage. Restrained shrinkage cracking, particularly significant in repaired structures where the existing concrete generates a considerable restraint against the free movement of the repair material, may represent a limit to the effective application of these materials. For this reason, shrinkage compatibility of HPC with the existing concrete substrate needs to be experimentally and numerically assessed. A study is herein presented where, based on experimental tests, different numerical models are developed and compared to assess and eventually minimize the risk of shrinkage cracking in bridge piers strengthened with HPC.


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