Performance of Headed Shear Stud Clusters for Precast Concrete Bridge Deck Panels

The purpose of this paper is to discuss an experimental testing regime that was conducted using push-test specimens constructed with pre-cast concrete panels connected to steel flanges with steel studs within a circular grout pocket due to the fact that the current longitudinal spacing limitation of 600mm for shear studs in the CHBDC is not conducive to the construction of pre-cast concrete decks where an increased spacing of the stud cluster is desirable. Specimens were tested to determine the ultimate capacity of a stud cluster and to investigate the reduction in ultimate strength after cyclic loading. Results from the study indicate that clustered shear studs embedded in high strength grout for construction using pre-cast deck panels are suitable for CHBDC requirements and preliminary investigations show that exceeding the code maximum stud spacing of 600mm can be acceptable.