Novel corrugated steel-sprayed UHPC composite (CSSUHPCC) arches: Structural testing, numerical simulation and calculation method

In this paper, an innovative arch system–corrugated steel-sprayed UHPC composite (CSSUHPCC) arch is proposed, which is characterized by rapid construction and excellent load-carrying capacity, making it a particularly suitable replacement for conventional corrugated steel (CS) arch in bridge and culvert projects with high demands for construction efficiency and load-carrying capacity. Experimental and numerical investigations into CSSUHPCC arches are conducted and reported in the present paper. Tests on five full-scale CSSUHPCC arch specimens with 6 m in length were first conducted. Experimental results revealed that the load-carrying capacity and initial stiffness of CSSUHPCC arches are 2.5 times and 1.3 times higher than those of the CS arches, respectively. In comparison with the modified epoxy resin-based technique, the shear connector-based interface connection technique offers a better interfacial connection between CS and UHPC in the CSSUHPCC arch and thus better material utilization of CS and UHPC. Furthermore, refined nonlinear finite element models were developed to simulate experimental structural responses and then used to conduct parametric analyses for examining all influencing geometric and material parameters, including the thicknesses of CS and UHPC, the strengths of CS and UHPC, and the rise-span ratio and span length. Finally, a calculation method for predicting the load-carrying capacity of CSSUHPCC arches has been proposed.