Experimental Investigation of the Shear Resistance of Concrete Hinges Under a Biaxial Load

Concrete hinges can withstand extremely high loads and rotations, while requiring only minimal maintenance. Their use is widespread, mainly in bridge construction, but they also find applications in the prefabrication of tunnel segments. With the right design and implementation, they can meet the highest requirements for the durability and resistance of a structure. However, the existing models and design procedures are relatively outdated. The models are based solely on empirical assumptions, whereas the shear resistance of the joint itself plays only a marginal role. The following paper aims to compare existing design models against experimental results in order to find the most suitable design approach that reliably captures the performance of a hinge under a shear load. An experimental program was developed in which 9 samples of concrete hinges were tested for different levels of axial loads and degrees of reinforcement. The results of the experiments were then compared with the selected design models, and a numerical nonlinear analysis was conducted.