Analysis of Shear Connector of Steel–Concrete Composite Box-Girder Bridge Considering Interfacial Bonding and Friction

Steel–concrete composite bridges consist of steel and concrete parts which are connected by shear connector such as the widely-used headed stud. Through the chemistry bonding, interface friction and mechanical action the two different materials parts are combined as a composite structure system. Because of the structural mechanism, longitudinal and lateral relative slip and normal separation between the concrete deck and steel girder flange will inevitably exist during the loading process. Further, the complex interface mechanical behavior causes difficulties with nonlinear numerical analysis. Multiple broken lines mode cohesive zone model considering bonding and friction is used in this paper to describe the tangent slip and normal crack of the interface. A zero thickness cohesive element was implemented via the user-defined element subroutine UEL in ABAQUS. Using this method, numerical simulation analysis of a two span composite continuous box-girder was carried out. Results showed load–displacement curves of the structure, relative displacement between the steel girder and the concrete slab interface, interface stress distribution, and internal force of shear studs. Discontinuous deformation numerical simulation has been realized, and effectiveness of the proposed method and accuracy of the program were verified. Although shear stress was assumed to be transmitted by shear connector in the design stage, interface bonding and friction resistance can affect the force state of the shear connector. Results of this study can be used for detailed analysis and evaluation of the composite box-girder bridge without the need to rely on the constitutive laws of shear connectors obtained from push-out tests.