State of the Art of Steel-Concrete Composite Bridge Towers with Steel Shells

Abstract

As a high-performance steel-concrete composite structure, the steel shell concrete bridge tower integrates the advantages of high bearing capacity, excellent seismic performance, rapid construction and outstanding durability, and has become the mainstream structural form of bridge towers for long-span bridges in recent years. This paper systematically reviews the latest research progress of steel shell concrete bridge towers. Firstly, it summarizes the typical structural forms and construction technologies, and classifies the main failure modes under mechanical loads and thermal loads. Subsequently, it systematically discusses the influence laws of key parameters such as steel shell thickness, concrete strength, steel ratio, stud spacing and temperature field on the mechanical properties and interfacial bonding performance of the structure. Meanwhile, it sorts out the research status of thermal effects and long-term performance of steel shell concrete bridge towers. Existing studies show that the axial and eccentric compressive bearing capacity of the structure increases with the rise of steel ratio and concrete strength; reasonable stiffener configurations and shear connectors can significantly improve the interfacial bonding performance and inhibit crack propagation. The temperature field has a remarkable impact on the thermal stress of steel shell concrete tower columns, and hydration heat and solar radiation are the core control factors. Finally, this paper points out the deficiencies of existing research and prospects the future research directions including multi-field coupling theory, refined design method and prefabricated construction technology, so as to provide a reference for the engineering design and application of this structure.