Non-linear analyses model for composite box-girders with corrugated steel webs under torsion

A composite box-girder with corrugated steel webs has been used in civil engineering practice as an alternative to the conventional pre-stressed concrete box-girder because of several advantages, such as high shear resistance without vertical stiffeners and an increase in the efficiency of pre-stressing due to the accordion effect. Many studies have been conducted on the shear buckling and flexural behavior of the composite box-girder with corrugated steel webs. However, the torsional behavior is not fully understood yet, and it needed to be investigated. Prior study of the torsion of the composite box-girder with corrugated steel webs has been developed by assuming that the concrete section is cracked prior to loading and doesn't have tensile resistance. This results in poor estimation of pre-cracking behaviors, such as initial stiffness. To overcome this disadvantage of the previous analytical model, an improved analytical model for torsion of the composite box-girder with corrugated steel webs was developed considering the concrete tension behavior in this study. Based on the proposed analytical model, a non-linear torsional analysis program for torsion of the composite box-girder with corrugated steel webs was developed and successfully verified by comparing with the results of the test. The proposed analytical model shows that the concrete tension behavior has significant effect on the initial torsional stiffness and cracking torsional moment. Finally, a simplified torsional moment-twist angle relationship of the composite box-girder with corrugated steel webs was proposed based on the proposed analytical model.