Fatigue of rib shear connectors - Analysis and engineering model

Fatigue of rib shear connectors - Analysis and engineering model The use of composite dowel shear connectors is becoming increasingly important in both building and bridge constructions. In addition to the high load-bearing capacity and stiffness of the composite dowels, their significantly better load-bearing behaviour under cyclic loading compared to headed studs is one further important advantage. As a result, the use of these innovative shear connectors in bridge construction is particularly promising. However, the existing regulations for the fatigue design of composite dowels were chosen conservatively due to the low experimental data basis, so that the advantageous cyclic load-bearing behaviour cannot yet be fully deployed. Within the scope of this article, the load bearing behaviour of composite dowels under cyclic loading is analysed in detail on the basis of experimental findings. Based on this, a model for estimating the service life of the composite dowels is developed.