Shear-lag effect in twin-girder composite decks

The paper presents a model for analysing the shear-lag effect on the slab of twin-girder composite decks subjected to static actions, support settlements and concrete shrinkage, which are the main actions of interest in composite bridge design. The proposed model includes concrete creep behaviour and shear connection flexibility. The shear-lag in the slab is accounted for by means of a new warping function. The considered actions are then applied to a realistic bridge deck and their effects are discussed. The proposed method is utilised to determine the slab effective widths for three different width-length ratios of the deck. Finally, a comparison between the results obtained with the Eurocode EC4-2 and those obtained with the proposed model is performed.