Impact of reinforcement ratio on the performance of self-compacting RC box girders under combined loading

Oral Presentation

Paper ID : 1185-ICASGE

¹Faculty of Engineering, Tanta University, Egypt

²Structural Engineering Department, Faculty of Engineering, Tanta University, Egypt

Structural elements such as eccentrically loaded box girders in bridges are often subjected to significant torsional moments that affect their strength and deformation. Wind forces, eccentric wheel loadings, or other overturning-type loads can cause these torsional moments. Generally, pure torsion is uncommon in the real world outside of laboratories, and in most situations, it is accompanied by bending and shear loads as well. Thus, in such cases, it is vital to take into consideration the interaction of various stress resultants in design. So, this paper presents an experimental investigation to study the impact of various main longitudinal reinforcement ratios of (2.31, 1.59, and 0.98) on the behavior of Self-Compacted Reinforced Concrete (SCRC) box girders subjected to combined loading. Cracking pattern, failure modes, deflection, angle of twist, strength, and strains were all evaluated. It was concluded that the ultimate capacity increased as the main longitudinal reinforcement ratio increased. Moreover, at the same loading level, the specimen with the lowest main longitudinal reinforcement ratio demonstrated a much larger deflection. This may be attributed to the fact that the primary tensile failure was accompanied by a rapid increase in deflection and cracking before concrete crushing.

box girders; combined loading; Self-compacted concrete; reinforcement ratio; Torsion