Bridge Girders with Corrugated Webs

Abstract

In plate girders, the use of corrugated webs permits the use of thin web plates without stiffeners, which reduces the cost of beam fabrication and improves fatigue life. Experimental and analytical studies on the behavior of girders with corrugated webs were conducted that have led to design recommendations. For girders with corrugated webs subjected to shear, it was noted from the experimental as well as the analytical results that failure of the web occurs because of local or global shear buckling, which depends on the corrugation configuration. For girders with corrugated webs subjected to uniform bending, the failure was due to yielding and vertical buckling of the compression flange into the web. The test and analytical results indicate that the web offered negligible contribution to the moment-carrying capacity of the beam, and the ultimate moment capacity may be calculated on the basis of the flange yielding, ignoring any contribution from the web. The behavior of girders with corrugated webs under in-plane compressive edge loads applied directly on the top flange was investigated, and design recommendations are made. Tests to examine the behavior of girders with corrugated webs under repeated loads are few. The results from the available tests are reported and compared with the results from test on conventionally stiffened girders with flat webs.