Experimental and Computational Research on the Shear Performance of Partially Filled Narrow-Width Steel Box-UHPC-Combined Girders under Negative Moment Action

Abstract

To examine the vertical shear behavior of narrow-width steel box-UHPC (Ultra-High Performance Concrete) composite beams with partial filling under negative bending moments, a total of six test beams were created and constructed in this study. The variables considered during the design and fabrication process included the flange thickness of UHPC, the amount of steel fibers in UHPC, and the height of the concrete filling. Reverse static concentration loading was applied to the beams. Compared to the C40 concrete flange, the cracking load of the 1/2 plate thickness UHPC flange and pure UHPC flange increased by 55.6% and 66.7%, respectively. The yield load witnessed a rise of 17.3% and 22.7%, while the ultimate load experienced an increase of 7% and 13.1%. This suggests that incorporating steel fibers can regulate the formation of cracks, enhance the flexibility of the flanges, and improve the overall shear capacity of the composite beams. When steel fibers were used in the amount of 2% of the concrete volume, the cracking resistance of the flange plate was increased by 16.7%. Partially filled and fully filled composite beams exhibited a 7.7% and 30.8% augmentation in cracking load, a 35.3% and 49.9% increase in yield load, and a 41% and 83.2% elevation in ultimate load when contrasted with composite beams devoid of concrete infusion within the steel box. The above observation implies that the incorporation of concrete within the steel box significantly improves the yield strength and ultimate shear capacity of the composite beams. The shear strength of the narrow-width steel box-UHPC composite beams, which are partially filled, shows a significant relationship with the experimental results when applying the principle of component superposition.