Experimental study on mechanical behavior of orthotropic steel deck with adhesively bonded rigid pavement

The steel deck with rigid pavement has a lower risk of fatigue failure owing to the enhanced local rigidity. A reliable connection of steel plate and pavement and a convenient construction are critical concerns for this deck type. To seek a new application meeting the aforementioned requirements, this paper proposed a steel deck with adhesively bonded rigid pavement cast by non-reinforced ultra-high performance concrete (UHPC). To study the constructability and flexural properties of this deck type in a bridge deck system, four specimens including two with adhesively bonded connection and two reference ones with shear stud connection were fabricated and experimentally investigated by positive and negative bending tests. In addition, a simplified pretreatment of steel substrate was conducted before the application of epoxy resin to simulate the low quality of on-site construction. Experimental results indicate that the shear strength of the bonding connection with simplified steel pretreatment could decrease to half of that with strict preparation. Bending tests demonstrate that the adhesive bonding provides a more rigid connection between steel and concrete than shear studs did. The bonding failure load was 1.5 times the U-rib yielding load, indicating a high positive bending-carrying capacity of the deck. The adhesive provides better crack resistance than shear studs in negative bending. From a perspective on the bending behavior in the deck system, the adhesive bonding was reliable to obtain high bending capacities to resist actual vehicle loads. Besides, the non-uniform shrinkage of non-reinforced UHPC pavement can cause a 30% reduction of cracking strength.

FEM Analysis as a Tool to Study the Behavior of Methacrylate Adhesive in a Full-Scale Steel-Steel Shear Joint

The use of adhesive to joint structural elements, despite many advantages of this technology, is not a method commonly used in engineering practice, especially in construction. This is mainly due to the poor recognition of the behavior, both in terms of testing and analysis, of joints made on a scale similar to the actual elements of building structures. Therefore, this paper presents the results of model tests and then numerical analyses of adhesively bonded joints made of high-strength steel elements in a full-scale (double-lap joint). In order to properly model the adhesive connection, material tests of the methacrylate adhesive were performed in the field of tensile, shear (in two versions: single lap joint test and thick adherent shear test) and bond properties. Comparison of the results of the model and numerical tests showed very good agreement in terms of the measurable values, which makes it possible to consider the results obtained in the adhesive layer as reliable (not directly measurable in model tests). In particular, the distribution of stresses inside the adhesive layer, the range of plastic zones and areas of loss of adhesion are presented and discussed. The results indicate the possibility of a reliable representation of the behavior of adhesively bonded joints of high-strength steel, thus providing a tool for the analysis of semirigid adhesive in large-size joints.

Effect of the Stress State on the Adhesive Strength of an Epoxy-Bonded Assembly

The paper studies the adhesive strength of aluminum alloy specimens bonded with the use of an epoxy adhesive, under the tensile-shear stress state, depending on the testing temperature. Tension of modified Arcan specimens with load angles of 0, 22.5, 45, 67.5, and 90° with respect to the plane of adhesion is chosen as the experimental method. Experiments were performed at temperatures of −50, +23, and +50 °С. The analysis of the obtained results yields a linear fracture criterion and a fracture locus for the adhesive failure strain energy density, which takes into account the ratio of the elastic properties of the adhesive to those of the substrate. The region bounded by the fracture loci of adhesive strength and ultimate strain energy density determines the conditions for the safe loading of the bonded assembly in terms of the energy and force criteria of adhesive failure. The proposed fracture loci can be used, preferably simultaneously, to estimate the in-service strength and reliability of adhesively bonded assemblies.