Optimized design of orthotropic steel deck stiffened plate

The finite element method combined with optimization was applied to the structural analysis of the local stability of orthotropic steel deck plate. The structural analysis of the orthotropic deck plate was conducted in the equivalent grillage method. The local stability of the orthotropic deck plate was analyzed with the Japanese bridge specification. A model for the optimization design of orthotropic steel deck plate was provided, in which the structural cost was taken as the objective function, and the rigidity and allowed stress of the orthotropic steel deck plate were taken as the constraints. The optimization function of FEM program-ANSYS was applied, and the optimization method was FDM. The optimized results have shown that the mechanical demands of the orthotropic steel deck stiffened plate are more easily met with larger span of cross beam and thicker top plate and U-stiffeners. Those significant conclusions can be used as a reference for the design of steel box girders.