Shear Experiments of Prestressed Concrete Bridge Girders

For the assessment of existing slab-between-girder bridges, the shear capacity and failure mode are under discussion. Previous research showed that the static and fatigue punching capacity of the slabs is sufficient as a result of compressive membrane action. The girders then become the critical elements. This research studies the shear capacity...

Monitoring Shear Behavior of Prestressed Concrete Bridge Girders Using Acoustic Emission and Digital Image Correlation

In the Netherlands, many prestressed concrete bridge girders are found to have insufficient shear–tension capacity. We tested four girders taken from a demolished bridge and instrumented these with traditional displacement sensors and acoustic emission (AE) sensors, and used cameras for digital image correlation (DIC). The results show that AE...

Punching Capacity of Prestressed Concrete Bridge Decks Under Fatigue

Previous research showed that the capacity of existing slab-between-girder bridges is larger than expected based on the punching shear capacity prescribed by the governing codes, as a result of compressive membrane action. A first series of fatigue tests confirmed that compressive membrane action also acts under cycles of loading. However, a...

Fatigue Assessment of Prestressed Concrete Slab-Between-Girder Bridges

In the Netherlands, the assessment of existing prestressed concrete slab-between-girder bridges has revealed that the thin, transversely prestressed slabs may be critical for static and fatigue punching when evaluated using the recently introduced Eurocodes. On the other hand, compressive membrane action increases the capacity of these slabs,...

Fatigue Testing of Transversely Prestressed Concrete Decks

In the Netherlands, slab-between-girder bridges with prestressed girders and transversely prestressed decks in between the girders require assessment. Static testing showed that compressive membrane action increases the capacity of these structures and that the decks fail in punching shear. The next question is if compressive membrane action...