Factors Affecting the Design Thickness of Bridge Slabs: Design and PreliminaryVerification of Test Setup

摘要

The punching shear behavior of concrete bridge decks under static, pulsatingfatigue, and rolling fatigue loads was studied using both analytical and experimental models. The study of the analytical models also played a large rol ein the design of the experimental specimens, test setup, and test procedure. Two primary models were analyzed using the finite element method. The first model was a finite element mesh representing a full-size, realistic highway bridge. The prototype was a 50-foot-span (15.24 m), three-girder bridge with a 7 1/2-inch (191 mm) concrete deck. The second model represented the actual slab specimen to be tested in the laboratory. The full-scale specimen measured 6 feet (1.83 m) wide, 7 feet (2.13 m) long, and 7 1/2 (191 mm) inches thick, and was modeled using 8-node solid elements. Loading of the specimen model emulated the loading used in the experiment, which, in turn, was representative of an actual truck tire footprint.