Impact of Concrete Deck Removal on Horizontal Shear Capacity of Shear Connections.

Because the deterioration rate of bridge decks is higher than that of other bridge components, intermittent replacement of bridge decks stands to be a viable approach to extending bridge service life without replacing entire bridge components. A lack of understanding of the effects of concrete removal on the horizontal shear capacity of existing shear connectors led to a question being raised about the necessity of removing all of the concrete during a deck replacement. The purpose of this study is to investigate the influence of the remaining concrete around the shear connectors on the horizontal shear capacity of the shear connection. An experimental program consisting of push-out testing was implemented. Twenty-seven small-scale specimens were fabricated using three different concrete removal levels (50%, 75%, and 100% concrete removal) and three types of shear connectors (shear stud, channel, and angle plus bar). Push-out testing was conducted for all the fabricated specimens until the specimens failed. During testing, the ultimate horizontal shear load of each shear connection and the slip between the concrete deck and the steel girder were recorded. The failure modes of all specimens were also documented. Subsequently, simplified analysis and finite-element (FE) analysis were conducted to assist understanding and interpreting the test results. On the basis of the experimental and analytical results, it was found that the horizontal shear strengths of the three types of shear connections were not sensitive to the quantity of concrete removed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]