Experimental Study and Theoretical Analysis of Steel–Concrete Composite Box Girder Bending Moment–Curvature Restoring Force

A steel–concrete composite box girder has good anti-seismic energy dissipation capacity, absorbs seismic energy, and reduces seismic action. It is very suitable for high-rise and super high-rise mega composite structure systems, which is in accordance with the condition of capital construction. In order to accurately study the elastic–plastic seismic response of the composite structure, the restoring force model of the building structure is the primary problem that needs to be solved. Previous research shows that shear connection degree, force ratio, and web height–thickness ratio are the major factors that influence composite box girder bearing capacity and seismic behavior. In this paper, low cycle vertical load tests of four steel–concrete composite box girders were conducted with different shear connection degrees and ratios of web height to thickness. The seismic behavior of a steel–concrete composite box girder was analyzed in depth, such as the hysteresis law, skeleton curve, and stiffness degradation law, etc. The influence of the shear connection degree and ratio of web height to thickness on seismic performance of the steel–concrete composite box girder was investigated. A three-fold line model of the bending moment–curvature skeleton curve of composite box girders was established. On the basis of experimental data and theoretical analysis, the formula of positive and negative stiffness degradation of composite box girders was obtained. Furthermore, the maximum point orientation hysteresis model of the bending moment–curvature of steel–concrete composite box girders was established. The calculated results of the restoring force model agree well with the experimental results. The accuracy of the proposed method is verified. The calculation method of the model is simple and clear, convenient for hand calculation, and suitable for engineering applications.