Shear assessment of reinforced concrete slab bridges

The capacity of reinforced concrete solid slab bridges in shear is assessed by comparing the design beam shear resistance to the design value of the applied shear force due to the permanent actions and live loads. Results from experiments on half-scale continuous slab bridges are used to develop a set of recommendations for the assessment of...

Effective width in shear of reinforced concrete solid slab bridges under wheel loads

Punching shear strength of transversely prestressed concrete decks

In the Netherlands, there is a need to determine the capacity of bridge decks as a large number of them were built back in the 60’s and 70’s. Since then, not only a lot of additional safety requirements have been incorporated into the modern codes but the traffic flow has also increased drastically. The current research deals with this question...

Prolonging the service life of existing reinforced concrete slab bridges through experimental studies on the shear capacity

A large number of existing reinforced concrete slab bridges are found to be insufficient for shear when calculated according to the governing codes. Seeking improved methods, for example, based on new experimental evidence, to assess the residual shear capacity and prolonging their service life can avoid large economic, environmental and social...

Numerical investigation of the bearing capacity of transversely prestressed concrete deck slabs

The research subject of this paper is the bearing capacity of transversely prestressed concrete bridge decks between concrete girders under concentrated loads. Experiments on a 1:2 scale model of this bridge were carried out in the laboratory and a 3D nonlinear finite element model was developed in the FEA software package DIANA to study the...

Applying Experimental Results to the Shear Assessment Method for Solid Slab Bridges

The combination of increased live loads and a more conservative shear capacity in the recently implemented Eurocodes, resulted in a large number of existing solid slab bridges in the Netherlands being shear-critical upon assessment. However, an enhancement of the shear capacity can occur in slabs under concentrated wheel loads due to transverse...

Assessment of the Shear Capacity of Existing Reinforced Concrete Solid Slab Bridges

Several existing reinforced concrete solid slab bridges in the Netherlands do not meet the criteria for shear when calculated according to the recently implemented Eurocodes. The shear capacity is assessed by comparing the design beam shear resistance to the design value of the applied shear force due to the dead load, permanent load and live...

Shear capacity of slabs under a combination of loads

Existing solid slab bridges under a combination of wheel loads and distributed traffic loads sometimes do not fulfil the code requirements for shear. However, reinforced concrete slabs loaded close to the support are subjected to shear stresses which might result in a failure mode of combined punching and shear. This behaviour is studied in a...

Concrete slabs under a combination of loads in shear

Previous experimental research at Delft University of Technology indicated an increased shear capacity of slabs under concentrated loads as a function of decreasing distance to the adjacent line support. Expressions have been derived for this increase, including the definition of an appropriate effective width. However, it is unknown if the...

Bearing capacity of prestressed concrete decks slabs

In the Netherlands, most of the bridges were built more than 50 years ago and it is essential for designers to find out if these bridges are safe for modern traffic especially in shear since that was not considered in design recommendations before 1976. Detailed experiments have been carried out in the laboratory to investigate punching shear...

Recommendations for the shear assessment of reinforced concrete slab bridges from experiments

Upon assessment of existing reinforced concrete short-span solid slab bridges according to the recently implemented Eurocodes that include more conservative shear capacity provisions and heavier axle loads, a number of these structures were found to be shear-critical. The results from recent experimental research on the shear capacity of slabs...

Shear Capacity of Existing Reinforced Concrete Slab Bridges under Traffic Loads

Poster. In the Netherlands, 60% of the existing bridges were built before 1975, while the traffic volumes and loads have increased over time. The results of a first assessment of the existing bridges showed that particularly the shear capacity of reinforced concrete solid slab bridges is often lower than the resulting shear stresses due to dead...