Numerical Analyses of Shear Behaviors of Epoxy Joints in Precast Concrete Segmental Bridges

摘要

Joints are important to transfer shear force between bridge segments, and epoxied joints can provide shearing resistance because of their good shear property and durability. In this article, the numerical analyses of the shear capability of epoxied joints have been conducted by a finite element model. In the analyses, the plastic damage model of concrete was used to investigate the stress behaviors and micro-cracks of concrete; the epoxy was assumed as a linear elastic material. The accuracy of numerical model established in this article has been verified by comparing the simulation results with the experimental tests. Numerical results show that the ultimate shear-resistant capacity of the epoxied joints and the generation and propagation of cracks around the spline tooth matches well with experimental tests. Therefore, it is effective to use the numerical model to further conduct the parametric analyses, which evaluates the shear property of the epoxied joints by varying the elastic modulus of the epoxy and the horizontal stress. The parametric analysis results show that the ultimate shear-resistant capacity of epoxied joints keeps invariant when the elastic modulus of the epoxy exceed 25% of that in concrete; the larger the horizontal stress is, the higher the ultimate shear-resistant capacity is. The numerical results obtained in the article could provide a valuable reference for the design of epoxied joints in both experimental tests and engineering projects.