Introduction - Finite Element Analysis and Design of Steel and Steel-Concrete Composite Bridges - page 7

elements in bridges and the choice of correct finite element types and mesh
size that can accurately simulate the complicated behavior of the different
components of steel and steel-concrete composite bridges. The chapter
highlights the linear and nonlinear analyses required to study the stability
of the bridges and bridge components. Also, the chapter details how the
nonlinear material behavior can be efficiently modeled and incorporated
in the finite element analyses. In addition, Chapter 5 details modeling of
shear connection for steel-concrete composite bridges. Furthermore, the
chapter presents the application of different loads and boundary conditions
on the bridges. The chapter focuses on the finite element modeling using
any software or finite element package, for example, in this topic, the use
of ABAQUS [ 1.29 ] software in finite element modeling.
Chapters 6 and 7 present illustrative examples of finite element models
developed to understand the structural behavior of steel and steel-concrete
composite bridges, respectively. The chapters start with a brief introduction
of the presented examples as well as a detailed review of previous investiga-
tions related to the presented examples. The chapters detail how the models
were developed and the results obtained. The presented examples show the
effectiveness of finite element models in providing detailed data that com-
plement experimental data in the field. The results are discussed to show the
significance of the finite element models in predicting the structural response
of the different bridges investigated. Overall, they aim to show that finite
element analysis not only can assess the accuracy of the design rules specified
in current codes of practice but also can improve and propose more accurate
design rules. Once again, it should be noted that in order to cover all the
latest information regarding the finite element modeling of different bridges,
the presented finite element models are developed by the author as well as by
other researchers and previously reported in the literature.
1.2 TYPES OF STEEL AND STEEL-CONCRETE COMPOSITE
BRIDGES
Steel bridges can be classified according to the type of traffic carried to
mainly highway (roadway) bridges, which carry cars, trucks, motorbikes,
etc. with an example shown in Figure 1.1 ; railway bridges, which carry
trains, with an example shown in Figure 1.2 ; or combined highway-railway brid-
ges, which carry combinations of the aforementioned traffic as shown in
Figure 1.3 . There are also steel bridges carrying pipelines ( Figure 1.4 ) , cranes
( Figure 1.5 ), and pedestrian bridges ( Figure 1.6 ), which are also secondary