Shear connection local problems in the seismic design of steel-concrete composite decks

This paper investigates local problems involved in the transfer mechanisms of inertia forces acting at the level of the concrete slab of typical steel-concrete composite bridge decks. In detail, the behaviour of the shear connection, usually designed with only refer-ence to non-seismic loads at the ultimate limit state, is studied considering shear forces descending from both horizontal and trans-verse seismic actions. Some results concerning twin-girder steel-concrete composite bridge decks characterised by different static schemes are presented and the distribution of longitudinal and transverse forces acting on the shear connection is discussed. First results demonstrate the significance of properly considering seismic induced forces in the design of the steel-concrete shear connec-tion and support the need of further investigations.