Behaviors of Joints with Perfobond Rib Shear Connectors in Steel-PSC Hybrid System

This paper studies the behavior of joints in steel-PSC (prestressed concrete) hybrid beams, which is necessary for the application of hybrid beams to spliced girder bridges, and proposes a new type of joint with improved construction convenience and structural behavior. In the proposed joint, perfobond rib shear connectors are attached to the upper and lower plates, which are expanded from the steel girders and located between the steel girder and the PSC girder. The experimental tests were performed on hybrid beams with the suggested joint. The results showed that all the beams had similar ultimate strengths and failure modes, due to the failure of their PSC parts. The composite action of the perfobond ribs was verified by examining the initial stiffness and cracks of the test beams. In addition, the test beams showed a higher degree of ultimate strength than the beams with stud shear connectors in the joints that had been previously studied. Thus, the proposed joint is effective for the steel-PSC hybrid beam.