Experimental investigation on shear performance of transverse angle shear connectors

To overcome the concrete casting obstruction of the bottom slabs in prestressed concrete box-girders with corrugated steel webs (CSWs), transverse angle shear connectors were adopted in some cases. The overall behavior of such steel-concrete structures highly depended on the shear behavior of the connectors. Seven large-scale push-out specimens, with different height and spacing of shear connectors, were tested to examine the shear performance of transverse angle shear connectors. The failure modes, load-slip relationships, ultimate shear strengths, initial stiffness and ductility of specimens were explored. Based on the experimental results, this study suggests that both of the connector height and spacing impacted the shear strength of transverse angle connectors. The initial stiffness of specimens improved with the increasing of both connector height and number. The ductile characteristic can also be observed in the load-slip relationship. Compared with traditional longitudinal PBL shear connector, the transverse angle shear connectors also showed apparent strength enhancement and acceptable ductile characteristic. The equation for angle shear connectors suggested in Eurocode 4 can be used for predicting the shear strength of transverse angle shear connectors with spacing ranged from 350 mm to 450 mm.