Stiffened flanges used in steel box girder bridges

Abstract

This paper presents a design method for stiffened flanges used in steel box girder bridges based on a set of design curves that take into account all relevant parameters regarding the ultimate strength of stiffened flanges, including the real boundary conditions for the inplane displacements at the edges. These design curves were developed and calibrated based on the results obtained with nonlinear analysis using the semi-analytical and finite element methods and they were validated by comparison with the results of experimental tests in accordance with the target failure probability of the European standard EN-1990. A comparison between the ultimate strength obtained using the proposal design curves with that obtained using the nonlinear analysis and the current bridge design rules is presented.