Study of mechanical behavior of a new precast steel-concrete composite pier cap

This paper proposes a new precast steel-concrete composite pier cap to accelerate bridge construction. Finite element analysis was conducted in this paper to reveal the mechanical behavior and force transfer mechanism of the precast steel-concrete composite cap. The mechanical behavior of concrete and steel components, joint interface, were investigated. The effects of web thickness on stress behavior, capacity, failure modes were compared. The results show that the structural steel has a compatible deformation with concrete under the design loads. The thickness of web has a significant effect on the capacity of composite cap. The thickness of diaphragm and web contributes to the structural yielding loads. The proposed precast steel-concrete composite pier cap is suggested to be applied for Accelerated Bridge Construction.