An Enhanced UHPC-Grout Shear Connection for Steel-Concrete Composite Bridges with Precast Decks

This article develops an enhanced UHPC-grout shear connection for steel-concrete composite bridges with precast decks. The primary improvement is the use of ultra-high performance concrete (UHPC) as the connection grout. To validate the constructability and the mechanical performance of the new connection, two series of experimental tests (including grouting tests and push-out tests) were conducted. Results from the grouting tests show that both the pressure grouting method and the self-levelling grouting method are applicable to inject the UHPC grout into the channel void of the connection. Results from the push-out tests indicate that the advanced properties of UHPC allow for a significant improvement of the shear resistance of the adhesive connection over traditional cementitious grouts. The ultimate shear capacity of the adhesive connection is controlled by the interface shear strength between the embossed steel and the UHPC grout, with a cohesion value of approximately 5.87 MPa. Meanwhile, the residual frictional resistance can be taken as approximately one-half of the ultimate resistance. The results of the finite-element analysis show that the trilinear model is reasonable to simulate the shear-slip laws of the embossed steel-grout interface and the rough concrete-grout interface.