Affiliations: [a] Wadsworth Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV, USA
| [b] College of Engineering and Computer Sciences, Marshall University, Huntington, WV, USA
| [c] West Virginia Division of Highways, Charleston, WV, USA
Correspondence:
[*]
Corresponding author. Karl E. Barth, Wadsworth Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, West Virginia University, Morgantown, 26506, USA. Tel.: +1 304 293 9921; E-mail: [email protected].
Abstract: The scope of this effort is to evaluate the performance of a link slab transversely connecting press-brake-formed tub girders (PBFTG). Modular PBFTGs were developed by a technical working group within the Steel Market Development Institute’s (a business unit of the American Iron and Steel Institute) Short Span Steel Bridge Alliance, led by the current authors. This working group consists of stakeholders in the steel bridge industry, including mills, fabricators, service centers, industry trade organizations, universities, and bridge owners. A full-scale link slab transversely joining two PBFTGs was fatigue loaded simulating a 75-year fatigue life in a rural environment. Strain and deflection data was recorded and compared throughout the fatigue life to determine the link slab’s effectiveness. Results of this effort show the link slab detail performs adequately throughout its fatigue life.
Keywords: Steel bridge, accelerated bridge
construction, link slab, fatigue testing, modular
construction
