Testing of composite girders with coiled spring pin shear connectors

Today, steel girder bridges with concrete deck slabs are generally constructed as steel-concrete composite structures, to utilize the material and the structural parts in an efficient way. However, many existing bridges constructed before the early 1980´s were designed without shear connectors at the steel-concrete interface. With increasing traffics loads and higher amount of load cycles, there is sometimes a need to strengthen these bridges. One way to increase the bending moment capacity is to create composite action by post-installation of shear connectors. The authors have studied the concept of strengthening by post-installed shear connectors, with a focus on a connector called coiled spring pin. This paper presents the results from the first beam tests performed with this kind of shear connector. In line with the previous push-out tests, the test results indicate a very ductile shear connection, with a potential to be a material- and cost-efficient strengthening alternative.