Inelastic shear distribution in prestressed concrete girder bridges

Benjamin Z. Dymond, Catherine E.W. French, Carol K. Shield

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contribution

Abstract

An experimental investigation was conducted on a full-scale prestressed concrete girder laboratory bridge to determine whether linear elastic shear distribution principles are conservative for load rating at ultimate capacity. A secondary goal was to determine whether existing web-shear cracks would be visible in an unloaded state. Two tests were conducted to failure (one near the end with a partial-depth diaphragm and one near the end without) to determine if the most loaded interior girder shed shear force to adjacent girders as it transitioned from uncracked to cracked to failure. Failure during each test was characterized by web-shear crushing and bridge deck punching at the peak applied load. Differences in the behavior of the two ends (with and without partial depth end diaphragm) affected the diagonal crack pattern, shear distribution, and loads at cracking and failure. The effect on loading was less than 10%. Inelastic shear distribution results indicated the girder carrying the most load redistributed shear to the other girders as it lost stiffness due to cracking. Use of linear elastic load distribution factors was conservative considering shear distribution at ultimate capacity. The visibility of web-shear cracks in an unloaded state was found to be a function of stirrup spacing.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Title of host publicationAdvanced Analysis and Testing Methods for Concrete Bridge Evaluation and Design
EditorsBenjamin Z. Dymond, Bruno Massicotte
PublisherAmerican Concrete Institute
Pages1-19
Number of pages19
ISBN (Electronic)9781641951043
StatePublished - Jul 17 2020
Externally publishedYes
EventAdvanced Analysis and Testing Methods for Concrete Bridge Evaluation and Design at the Concrete Convention and Exposition 2019 - Quebec City, Canada
Duration: Mar 24 2019Mar 28 2019

Publication series

NameAmerican Concrete Institute, ACI Special Publication
VolumeSP-342
ISSN (Print)0193-2527

Conference

ConferenceAdvanced Analysis and Testing Methods for Concrete Bridge Evaluation and Design at the Concrete Convention and Exposition 2019
Country/TerritoryCanada
CityQuebec City
Period3/24/193/28/19

Keywords

  • Concrete bridge
  • Failure
  • Inelastic behavior
  • Load testing
  • Prestressed concrete
  • Shear distribution

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Civil and Structural Engineering
  • Building and Construction
  • General Materials Science

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