Title: Evaluation of Reinforced Concrete Deck Girder Bridge Bent Caps with 1950s Vintage Details: Analytical Methods

Author(s): A. Ekin Senturk and Christopher Higgins

Publication: Structural Journal

Volume: 107

Issue: 5

Appears on pages(s): 544-553

Keywords: bent caps; bridges; building codes; cracking; deep beams; shear; ultimate strength

DOI: 10.14359/51663905

Date: 9/1/2010

Abstract:
To assess the behavior and capacity of full-scale bent cap specimens presented in the companion paper, various analysis methods were employed including the traditional ACI 318-08 shear design method, ACI 318-08 strut-and-tie provisions, obsolete ACI 318-99 deep beam shear design equations, the sectional approach of the modified compression field theory (MCFT) with the computer program Response 2000, the formal theory and mechanical model derived by Zararis, and nonlinear finite element analysis with the computer program VecTor2. To model the unique conditions for vintage bent caps, the mechanical model originally proposed by Zararis was adapted for these conditions, and the related modifications, as well as a solution algorithm, are presented. A good correlation between experimental and analytical results was achieved with the modified Zararis method and nonlinear finite element analysis.