Tragverhalten spezieller Verbundelemente für Holz-Beton-Verbundstraßenbrücken unter zyklischer Beanspruchung

Load bearing behavior of special connectors used for timber-concrete composite road bridges under cyclic loading - proposal for the fatigue verification

This article deals with the fatigue behavior of the timber part of a connector type, which can be used for timber-concrete composite road bridges. For the investigation of the fatigue behavior of the so called stud connector extensive experimental tests - primarily under cyclic loading - were accomplished at the Bauhaus University Weimar. Based on these tests a suitable design concept for the appliance in practice is presented.
Beside the conventional design of the shear joint also a new modified configuration was analyzed, which is characterized by a layer consisting of polymer concrete in the load bearing area. The use of polymer concrete equalizes all tolerances due to manufacturing so that the stud connector can be accurately fitted into the notch in the timber girder. Consequently the initial slip between stud connector and timber can be eliminated, which leads to a very high stiffness of the joint and a consistent load distribution in the contact area.
According to the well-known S-N-lines from structural steel engineering characteristic fatigue lines for both designs of the joint were elaborated based on the experimental tests. These characteristic lines show that the concept of the simplified fatigue verification according to the code for timber bridges is applicable for both designs of the joint with the stud connector. Especially for the investigated designs fatigue coefficients are suggested for a more efficient structural design.