<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">

<p>Composite dowels have opened new possibilities for engineers designing composite structures. The fundamental and most important characteristic of composite dowels is the shape of the cutting line. It is important to understand why only one particular shape of the cutting line is used in bridge engineering, while so many different shapes have been investigated by many researchers. The essential part of the process of developing composite dowels – the development of the shape of the cutting line – is presented in this paper. The influence of the steel web thickness is presented, and technological problems of steel fabrication are highlighted. The role of empirical experience from the first bridges, push-out tests, and finite element simulations is presented. Assumptions for numerical procedures are given. The distinction between the steel failure and concrete failure modes is introduced for composite dowels. The paper presents how the concept of “shape” was divided into “shape,” “ratio,” and finally “size,” and how, because of the fatigue problems in bridges, all the three factors have emerged to result in the form of shapes that can satisfy the requirements for bridges. Research leading to the invention of the first version of the clothoidal shape is presented.</p>
</abstract>

Composite dowels have opened new possibilities for engineers designing composite structures. The fundamental and most important characteristic of composite dowels is the shape of the cutting line. It is important to understand why only one particular shape of the cutting line is used in bridge engineering, while so many different shapes have been investigated by many researchers. The essential part of the process of developing composite dowels – the development of the shape of the cutting line – is presented in this paper. The influence of the steel web thickness is presented, and technological problems of steel fabrication are highlighted. The role of empirical experience from the first bridges, push-out tests, and finite element simulations is presented. Assumptions for numerical procedures are given. The distinction between the steel failure and concrete failure modes is introduced for composite dowels. The paper presents how the concept of “shape” was divided into “shape,” “ratio,” and finally “size,” and how, because of the fatigue problems in bridges, all the three factors have emerged to result in the form of shapes that can satisfy the requirements for bridges. Research leading to the invention of the first version of the clothoidal shape is presented.

The evolution of the shape of composite dowels

Wrocław University of Science and Technology

Faculty of Civil Engineering, Department for Steel and Composite Structures

Studia Geotechnica et Mechanica

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

{"article-title":"The evolution of the shape of composite dowels"}

Composite dowels have opened new possibilities for engineers designing composite structures. The fundamental and most important characteristic of composite...

The evolution of the shape of composite dowels

Article Category: Original Study

Publié en ligne: 06 nov. 2022

Pages: 296 - 316

Reçu: 28 déc. 2021

Accepté: 11 août 2022

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/sgem-2022-0021

Mots clés
Composite dowels, shear connection, composite bridges, fatigue, FEM, hybrid beams

© 2022 Wojciech Lorenc et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

The evolution of the shape of composite dowels

Article Category: Original Study

Publié en ligne: 06 nov. 2022

Pages: 296 - 316

Reçu: 28 déc. 2021

Accepté: 11 août 2022

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/sgem-2022-0021

Mots clésComposite dowels, shear connection, composite bridges, fatigue, FEM, hybrid beams

© 2022 Wojciech Lorenc et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Mots clés
Composite dowels, shear connection, composite bridges, fatigue, FEM, hybrid beams