Shear buckling of composite I-girders with corrugated steel webs

Corrugated steel plates have attracted wide attention based on their superior shear buckling capacity. The shear buckling performance of steel or composite I-girders can be significantly improved by replacing the plane webs with corrugated steel webs. However, the differences in shear buckling evolution processes between plane steel webs and corrugated steel webs are rarely revealed in detail. Besides, the conventional analytical models are conservative in that the shear buckling capacity of composite I-girders with corrugated steel webs only considers the shear contribution of corrugated steel webs and ignores the concrete flange. For such insufficient research points mentioned above, this study reveals the shear buckling evolution processes of steel webs in detail by testing two composite I-girders, which possess corrugated steel webs and plane steel webs, respectively. The experimental results highlight the superiorities of the shear buckling of corrugated steel webs compared with plane steel webs. Based on the verified finite element models, the effects of initial imperfection modes, initial imperfection amplitudes, connection degrees, and steel flange-to-web thickness ratios on the shear buckling of composite I-girders with corrugated steel webs are comprehensively investigated. Afterward, considering the shear capacity of the concrete flange and the influence of initial imperfections, connection degrees, and steel flange-to-web thickness ratios, the improved analytical model with reasonable efficiency is proposed to estimate the shear buckling resistance of composite I-girders with corrugated steel webs.