Research on flexural behavior of composite box continuous girder with corrugated steel webs and trusses

Abstract

A new type of composite structure, the composite box girder with corrugated steel webs (CSWs) and trusses, is proposed recently. In order to investigate the structural behavior under positive and negative bending moments, flexural tests of the continuous girder were carried out, and the failure modes, deformation patterns, strain distribution, and development of the concrete cracks were investigated. Finite element analysis was conducted to investigate the effect of the range of concrete in the steel tube and the thickness of CSWs on the flexural behavior. The experimental and numerical results show that the test beam has a good ductility and integrity under flexural load. The contribution of CSWs to the flexural bearing capacity is very small and can be neglected. Besides, the plane section assumption is still valid when only top concrete slab and bottom steel tubes are concerned. The concrete filled in bottom steel tubes increases the stiffness and the bearing capacity of the girder. Equations to calculate the flexural bearing capacity under positive and negative bending moments were put forward and then verified with experimental results.