Chapter 1 - Introduction

Abstract

Steel and steel-concrete composite bridges are commonly used all over the world because they combine both magnificent esthetic appearance and efficient structural competence. Numerous books were found in the literature highlighting different aspects of design for steel and steel-concrete composite bridges. However, up-to-date, the only detailed book found in the literature addressing both finite element analysis and design of steel and steel-concrete composite bridges is credited to the first edition of this book. This book highlights the use of finite element modeling to improve and propose more accurate design guides for steel and steel-concrete composite bridges, which are rarely found in the literature. The book consists of eight well-designed chapters covering necessary topics related to finite element analysis and the design of steel and steel-concrete composite bridges. This chapter provides a general background for the types of steel and steel-composite bridges. Chapter 2 focuses on the nonlinear material behavior of the main components of steel and steel-concrete composite bridges comprising steel, concrete, reinforcement bars, shear connectors, etc. Chapter 3 presents the different loads acting on steel and steel-concrete composite bridges and the stability of the bridges when subjected to these loads. Chapter 4 presents detailed design examples of the components of steel and steel-concrete composite bridges. Chapter 5 focuses on finite element analysis of steel and steel-concrete composite bridges. Chapters 6 and 767 present illustrative examples of finite element models developed to understand the structural behavior of steel and steel-concrete composite bridges, respectively. Chapter 8 extends the approach of combining design with finite element modeling, adopted in the first edition of this book, to cover composite highway bridges with profiled steel sheeting.