Experimental behavior of curved bottom flanges in steel box-girder bridge decks

The main objective of the research program is to develop solid knowledge on the structural behavior of curved steel panels for optimized applications in steel and composite bridges. Moreover, the new findings in this field should spur and contribute to the extension of the EN 1993-1-5 design methodology, which is still limited only to the design of flat plates. Therefore, two identical prototype box-girder bridge segments, in scale 1:3 with respect to a real study case, with two different steel grades (S460 and S690) were experimentally tested. Segments are tested as three-point bending tests, with the aim to assess the complex behavior of a box girder bridge deck near the intermediate support, where the moment-shear (M - V) interaction occurs. This paper gives a detailed description of the experimental program executed and most relevant results, which will be used for the calibration of a numerical model, where the influence of several key parameters will be further investigated. (C) 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.