Behavior of bridge girders with corrugated webs: (I) Real boundary condition at the juncture of the web and flanges

In this paper, the real behavior at the juncture between the corrugated web and flanges of bridge girders is studied. An elastic bifurcation buckling analysis is carried out using ABAQUS computer package for corrugated webs with simple (S) and fixed (F) boundary conditions at their juncture with the flanges. The dimensions of the generated corrugated webs are assumed based on the average dimensions of the available bridges with corrugation webs. The principle aim is to firstly compare them with each other. Secondly, the critical shear buckling strengths of the corrugated webs with both boundary conditions are compared with the interactive shear buckling strength formulae available in the literature. The paper is then extended to compare girder segments composed from corrugated webs and flanges with corrugated webs with well-defined boundary conditions; simple (S) and fixed (F). Based on the numerical results, the relative critical shear stress of the corrugated webs of simple juncture to that of the corresponding fixed boundary condition has an average value of 0.96. The comparison with the available interactive shear buckling strength formulae shows that the 1st-order interactive buckling strength is suitable for the case of corrugated webs with simple-juncture, while it is unconservative for the case of fixed-juncture corrugated webs. Hence, a new interactive shear buckling strength formula is proposed for the case of fixed (F) juncture in the current paper. The results as well obviously indicated that when the flanges are rigid enough (tf/tw ⩾ 3.0), the girder segments exhibit shear failure mechanisms. Whereas, if the corrugated web plates are relatively rigid (tf/tw < 3.0), the strengths of the girders become controlled by the deformation of flanges. Finally, it is found that the realistic support condition at the juncture is nearly fixed.