Study on Shear Lag Effect of a PC Box Girder Bridge with Corrugated Steel Webs under Self Weight

Abstract

In the present paper, based on the three-dimensional finite element analysis for a three-span continuous PC box girder bridge with corrugated steel webs and the corresponding conventional box girder bridge with concrete webs, a comparative study on the shear lag effect under self-weight is carryied out together with the analyslis on the coefficient of the effective flange width. The results show that At the sections in the negative bending moment near the intermediate piers, the shear lag effect in the bridge with corrugated steel webs is more obvious than that in the bridge with concrete webs by 8%; and the corresponding effective flange width coefficient in the bridge with corrugated steel webs is even smaller than 0.9, so the shear lag effect at these sections should be considered in the design of this type of bridges. At the mid-span section of the middle span of a three-span continuous bridge either with corrugated steel webs or concrete webs, the shear lag effect can be omitted since the corresponding effective flange width coefficient there is close to 1.0.