Load-transmitting performance evaluation method for hinge joint based on relative displacement

Damaged hinge joint induced diseases such as cracking, seepage and pavement faulting usually appear in fabricated concrete plate-girder bridge under the long-term action of the overload transportation and harsh environmental factors. Based on the stress state and deformation analysis of plate girders and hinge joint, a conception of using the ratio of relative displacement adjacent to hinge joint and the general deflection of plate girder beam is put forward to describe the damage degree of hinge joint. Hinge joint load transfer model considering the damage of hinge joint is established for fabricated plate-girder bridge.combined with multi-point and eccentric loading situation in conventional static loading test of highway bridges, a quantitative assessment method is put forward to evaluate the damage degree and lateral load transmission performance of hinge joint in fabricated plate-girder bridge. Several real bridge static load test data is used to validate the feasibility of the proposed model, and the results prove that the hinge joint damage evaluation index and load transmission performance evaluation method are reasonable and they can be used in technical condition evaluation of fabricated plate girder bridge in the practical engineering.