PARAMETRIC STUDY ON NONCOMPOSITE SLAB-ON-GIRDER BRIDGES WITH ENFORCEDFRICTIONAL CONTACT

Using post-tensioned steel rods for strengthening noncomposite slab-on -steel girder bridges has the beneficial effects of both stabilizing t he steel girders laterally and developing partial composite action lon gitudinally. The stabilizing effect and development of partial composi te action are achieved by taking advantage of friction developed at th e steel-concrete interface. A bridge reinforced by this technique is e xpected to have a higher load-carrying capacity and better load distri bution under heavy traffic loads. Prestressed rods have been successfu lly used to strengthen 1/3 scale noncomposite bridge models in laborat ory. The concrete slab-on-steel girder bridge models reinforced by pre stressed rods are analyzed numerically in this paper by the use of the finite element method, Corresponding noncomposite models are also sim ulated for comparison to investigate the efficiency of this strengthen ing technique. The effects of variables such as the number of rods, pr estressing level, type of load, slab thickness, steel girder slenderne ss, girder spacing, and ratio of radii of gyration of steel girders on the strengthening efficiency are studied by the finite element method . A full-scale bridge is analyzed to demonstrate the effect of the pro posed reinforcing technique.