Stability of full-scale orthotropic steel plates under axial and biased loading: Experimental and numerical studies

Abstract

In this study, three full-scale orthotropic steel plates set with single U rib, double U ribs and three U ribs were fabricated based on the mechanical characteristics of Changhong bridge in Ningbo. Several displacement and strain measuring points were selected as the analysis indexes, and two loading modes of axial and biased loading were designed. The buckling shape, out of plane displacement and strain variation law of the components under different loading conditions were analyzed. The DIC method was used to analyze the buckling and force transfer mechanism of the component in the loading process. Moreover, the finite element simulation and parameter analysis were carried out under eight component parameters by using ANSYS software. Through the experimental and parameter analysis in this paper, the instability mode, change of out of plane displacement, strain distribution and force transfer mechanism of orthotropic steel plates under different loading modes were obtained, which can provide reference value for the stability study of orthotropic steel plate and orthotropic steel box girder.