Longitudinal shear in composite concrete bridge beams. Part 2: Experimental investigation and recommendation

This is the second of a two part report. The first part (1) assessed the longitudinal shear provisions in BS 5400 for the design of joints between precast beams and in situ cast slabs in composite bridges. This second part describes the test work carried out following the recommendations in the first part. The test work consisted of 83 push-off tests, 47 small beam tests, and 16 full-scale M3 composite beam tests. Both static and fatigue tests were included in the programme. In the light of the test work, it is concluded that the current BS 5400 provisions are essentially safe, but some improvements are recommended. (For part 1 see IRRD 810645).