Estudo comparativo de soluções para vigas mistas empregadas em obras de arte especiais

Abstract

Due to the growing demand for more economical, efficient, and sustainable bridges, the study of constructive methods that provides such attributes become necessary. In this sense, steel-concrete composite bridges have become a popular solution due to the combination of the structural benefits of both steel and concrete. For small and medium span bridges, the common solution with a concrete slab and steel I-girders often display the most economic results. In addition, other solutions emerge as innovative alternatives for bridge construction, such as steel-concrete composite beams with composite dowels and preflexbeams. Although commonly adopted on bridges internationally, these solutions are still rarely used and poorly developed on Brazil. Therefore, this work has aimed to develop a comparative study of the different solutions for composite beams, to define a guideline to the project and execution of these systems, and to delimitate their efficiency and economy. Thus, case studies have been carried out according to the Eurocode design specifications and analytical models presented in the literature. As a mean to verify the case studies of the superstructure of simply supported railway bridges, spreadsheets have been developed, and the solutions indicators of performance have been obtained. Therefore, this work can be considered as a practical guide for future national applications of these composite beam systems, aiming to contribute to the system dissemination on the Brazilian technical field.