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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Mater.
Sec. Structural Materials
Volume 12 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fmats.2025.1573601
This article is part of the Research TopicJoining and Welding of New and Dissimilar Materials - Volume IIIView all 3 articles
Analytical investigation on resolution calculation method for nonlinear temperature load of steel-concrete composite girders
Provisionally accepted- Gansu Provincial Transportation Planning Survey and Design Institute Co., Ltd., Lanzhou, Gansu Province, China
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This study establishes a thermo-mechanical coupling framework to elucidate the contribution mechanisms of nonlinear thermal loads in composite girders through thermal effect decomposition. A novel decomposition methodology for nonlinear temperature fields is developed based on the thermal effect equivalence principle, integrating cross-sectional deformation compatibility conditions to characterize the dynamic coupling between thermal responses and temperature loads. The proposed approach enables systematic decomposition of actual nonlinear temperature fields into three equivalent components: uniform, linear, and nonlinear temperature gradients. A computational framework incorporating statically indeterminate structural effects is subsequently formulated for comprehensive thermal response analysis. Four thermal loading models are comparatively investigated: field-measured temperature gradients, two theoretical thermal loading models (TLM-I and TLM-II), and the standardized gradient in Chinese Code JTG D60-2015. The analysis encompasses temperature-induced self-restraint stresses, secondary stresses, and axial deformation in variable-section continuous composite girders. Key findings reveal that code-specified thermal stresses exhibit opposing polarity characteristics at specific locations compared to other models. Quantitative decomposition demonstrates that self-restraint stresses primarily derive from equivalent uniform and nonlinear temperature components, while secondary stresses predominantly originate from equivalent linear and uniform temperature contributions. Axial deformations show 89-94% dependence on equivalent uniform temperature effects. The developed methodology provides theoretical foundations for refined thermal design of composite bridge structures, addressing critical limitations in current code-specified thermal analysis approaches.
Keywords: Steel-concrete composite girder, Temperature gradient, thermal effects, Temperature self-restrained stress, Nonlinear temperature
Received: 09 Feb 2025; Accepted: 21 Apr 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Zhang, Wu and Xian. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Wei Xian, Gansu Provincial Transportation Planning Survey and Design Institute Co., Ltd., Lanzhou, Gansu Province, China
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