Resistance Capacity of a Hybrid Titanium–Clad Bimetallic Steel Plate Girder under Patch Loading

Abstract

The corrosion of structural steel has a significant impact on the durability of plate girders servicing in marine environments. A high-performance configuration for a steel plate girder with a titanium–clad bimetallic steel (TCBS) web was suggested to eliminate the adverse effects of corrosion on the durability of bridges and industrial structures serving in corrosive environments. The patch-loading resistant experiment on the hybrid TCBS plate girder was innovatively conducted to clarify the feasibility of using TCBS in components with large deformation. Moreover, a numerical modeling method was suggested to research the patch-loading resistance response of hybrid TCBS plate girders. Based on the numerical analysis, a parametric study was performed to clarify the nonlinear bearing response of the hybrid TCBS plate girders subjected to patch loading, which included the effects of the stress–strain property of the structural steel, loading length, aspect ratio, and height-to-thickness ratio. Numerical results showed that current standards underestimated the ultimate bearing capacity of hybrid TCBS plate girders. Therefore, a suggestion for further improving the design methods of TCBS plate girders was recommended. Additionally, the research results of this paper yielded experimental evidence for the engineering application of bimetallic materials.