Modelling and integrity assessment of shear connectors in precast cast-in-situ concrete bridges

Precast-cast insitu concrete bridge construction is widely practiced for small to medium span structures. These bridges consist of precast pre-stressed concrete beams of various cross-sections with a cast in-situ reinforced concrete slab. The connection between the beams and the slab is via shear links often included during the manufacturing process of the beams. This form of construction is attractive as it provides for standardisation, reduced formwork and construction time. The assessment of the integrity of shear connectors in existing bridges is a major challenge. A procedure for assessment of shear connectors based on vibration testing and finite element model updating is proposed. The technique is applied successfully to a scaled model bridge model and an existing bridge structure.