Numerical Analysis on Plastic Moment Capacity of Prefabricated Steel Girders with Injection Channel Connections

Recently, a great amount of research has been conducted for resolving a growing need for durable and resilient highway bridge construction/reconstruction systems in many countries. As a part of such studies, the girder systems with a novel connection like an injection channel that facilitate simplified construction by eliminating the need for interlacing the girder shear connectors into pockets in the deck panels have been proposed. Based on a thorough literature study, a prototype design was developed by deploying a new innovative connection between prefabricated bridge elements through an injection channel. Equations were derived based on the AASHTO bridge design specifications to calculate the flexural moment strength of the prefabricated steel girder in positive flexure. Finite element analysis was carried out to examine the flexural moment strength of the prefabricated steel girder and the applicability of the proposed equations. The results show that the proposed equations reasonably predicted the flexural moment strength of the prefabricated steel girder in positive flexure. Furthermore, parametric studies were conducted to investigate the influence of the compressive strength of grout and precast concrete, and the location of the plastic neutral axis on the flexural moment strength of the prefabricated steel girder. The study results could be utilized for future studies to set up the performance evaluation procedure of the prefabricated steel girder due to its connection with multi-step casting concrete.