Fatigue strength of transverse cantilevers in composite bridges and verification of the damage hypothesis on reinforced concrete slabs under tensile and shear loads

In the area of road bridges, numerous large bridges with spans in the range of 50-60 m and above will have to be replaced in the next few years. For this span range, for the superstructures steel composite construction has established itself as an economical construction method. Recently, precast concrete elements have increasingly been used for the production of their concrete slab. A transversely oriented steel structure is then required to support the precast elements, e.g. by arranging inclined struts with a tension band and secondary longitudinal girders or steel cantilever girders to support the precast elements. As a supplement to the BMVI project, multi-stage tests are to be carried out on reinforced concrete slabs, investigations into the optimization of the top flange connection and a supplementary structural monitoring.

The research project is carried out in collaboration with the consulting office of Prof. Dr.-Ing. Ulrike Kuhlmann, TU Berlin (Prof. Dr.-Ing Karsten Geißler) and GMG Ingenieurgesellschaft, Dresden.

University of Stuttgart, Institute of structural design (Prof. Dr.-Ing. Ulrike Kuhlmann, Lena Stempniewski); consulting office of Prof. Dr.-Ing. Ulrike Kuhlmann; TU Berlin (Prof. Dr.-Ing. Karsten Geißler), GMG Ingenieurgesellschaft, Dresden

Federal Highway Research Institute

December 2020 -2023