Chapter 5 - Finite element analysis of steel and steel-concrete composite bridges

Abstract

This chapter presents the more commonly used finite elements in meshing and modeling of the bridges. The chapter highlights the choice of correct finite element types and mesh sizes that can accurately simulate the complicated behavior of the different components of steel and steel-concrete composite bridges. The chapter provides a brief revision for the linear and nonlinear analyses required to study the stability of the bridges and bridge components. Also, the chapter details how to incorporate the nonlinear material properties of the different components, previously presented, in the finite element analyses. In addition, this chapter details the modeling of shear connections, previously presented, for steel-concrete composite bridges. Furthermore, the chapter presents the application of different loads and boundary conditions, previously presented in Chapter 3, on the bridges. It should be noted that this chapter focuses on finite element modeling using any software or finite element package, as an example in this book, the use of ABAQUS software in finite element modeling.