Abstract
Wet joints are widely used in precast steel–concrete composite bridges to accelerate the construction of bridges, though a conventional wet joint usually has a poor ultimate shear capacity. To improve the shear capacity of the wet joint, a concave square frustum-shaped wet joint was proposed, and the failure modes and ultimate shear capacity were studied experimentally and numerically. Specimens with concave square frustum-shaped and conventional wet joints (labeled as S-SWJ and S-CWJ) were fabricated, and experiments were performed on them. The results showed that the ultimate shear capacity of S-SWJ was substantially enhanced compared to that of S-CWJ. To further explore the ultimate shear capacity of S-SWJ, the failure modes and the influences of concrete strength and shear key angle on the ultimate shear capacity were studied using a validated finite element (FE) model. Based on the FE analysis, the guidelines for obtaining a wet joint with desirable shear capacity are presented, which is useful for the design of wet joints with high ultimate shear capacity.
Highlights
In recent years, many bridges have been constructed for the convenience of travel and the alleviation of traffic jams, but the construction of bridges with conventional methods is time-consuming and costly [1]
The damage variable DAMAGET is a quantity associated with the failure of the material, and the contour plot of this damage variable can be used to characterize the failure of S-SWJ
Inspired by the fact that high shear resistance can be achieved by properly choosing the shape of shear keys in dry joints, a concave square frustum-shaped wet joint was proposed to improve the shear capacity
Summary
Many bridges have been constructed for the convenience of travel and the alleviation of traffic jams, but the construction of bridges with conventional methods is time-consuming and costly [1]. In order to improve the ultimate shear capacity and durability of wet joints, three approaches are mainly adopted: (1) grout the wet joints with suitable high performance materials, (2) change the overlapping form of reinforcement at the wet joint, and (3) set shear keys at wet joints. Has discontinuous void structure, which can reduce the entry of water molecules It has stronger durability than traditional concrete and is suitable for the wet joints of a steel–concrete composite bridge [3]. A shear key was introduced in the wet joint in this study, and a concave square frustum-shaped wet joint was proposed to improve the shear capacity of wet joint, as well as reduce the stress concentration.
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