Experimental study on the shear resistance of a comb-type perfobond rib shear connector.

A comb-type perfobond rib shear connector that can be applied to a prefabricated steel and concrete composite bridge is proposed in this paper by arranging perfobond rib shear connectors (hereinafter referred to as PBL shear connectors) at intervals. The mechanical property of shear resistance is investigated through experimental and numerical methods. Push-out tests covering various design variables and a comparison between comb-type and conventional PBL shear connectors are conducted. FEM models are established to simulate the test and for further studying the mechanism during entire loading process. The proposal mechanism of connectors under shear load was developed according to the analysis based on numerical simulation. It was concluded that comb-type connectors exactly performed better in stiffness and shear capacity than conventional ones, and a conceivable reason was given according to the analysis on mechanism. • An innovated shear connector applied to prefabricated concrete and steel composite bridge is proposed. • The bearing of bottom concrete due to the raise in shear resistant of the shear connector. • The mechanical model revealed the entire process of failure under shear load is developed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]