Hot-rolled sheet piling has long-been believed to have a better flexural performance than cold-formed sheet piling based on a test conducted by Hartman Engineering twenty years ago. However, cold-formed steel can have similar strength to the hot-rolled steel This experimental program studied the flexural behavior of hot-rolled and cold-formed steel sheet pilings. This program quantified the influence of transverse stresses from soil pressures on the longitudinal flexural strength. Four cross-sections with two pairs of equivalent sectional modulus were investigated. Sheet-piling specimens were subjected to simulated soil pressure from an air bladder loaded transversely to their longitudinal axis. The span lengths were varied, while the loading area remains unchanged to examine the effect of different transverse stresses. Lateral bracings were provided at discrete locations to establish a sheet piling wall behavior and allow the development of transverse stresses. Load-pressure, load-deflection, load-strain, and moment-deflection responses were plotted to demonstrate the behavior of each specimen. The moment-deflection curves were then normalized to the corresponding yield stress from tensile coupon tests to make a meaningful comparison. The results indicate that transverse stresses influence the flexural capacity of the sheet pilings. The longer span length has less amount of transverse strains, resulting in a higher moment capacity. The hot-rolled sheet pilings have better flexural performance also because of less transverse strains. / Master of Science / Sheet piling wall is an essential structure used during the excavation process. Sheet piling can be hot-rolled and cold-formed. Hot-rolled sheet piling has long-been believed to have a better bending performance based on a test conducted by Hartman Engineering twenty years ago. However, cold-formed steel can have similar strength to hot-rolled steel. This experimental program studied the bending behavior of hot-rolled and cold-formed steel sheet pilings. This program quantified the influence of lateral loading from soil pressure on the moment capacity of the sheet piling. Four cross-sections with two pairs of equivalent bending properties were investigated. Sheet-piling specimens were set up as beam members and subjected to simulated soil pressure from an air bladder. The span lengths of the specimens were varied, while the loading area remains unchanged to examine the effect of different amounts of load. Lateral bracings were provided at discrete locations to establish a sheet piling wall behavior and allow local deflection of the cross-section. Load-pressure, load-deflection, load-strain, and moment-deflection responses were plotted to demonstrate the behavior of each specimen. The moment-deflection curves were then normalized to the corresponding material property of each specimen to make a meaningful comparison between different specimens. The results indicate that lateral loading of the soil pressure influences the bending capacity of the sheet pilings. The longer span length has less amount of transverse strains, resulting in a higher bending capacity. The hot-rolled sheet pilings have better bending performance also because of less transverse strains.

During the fall of 2012, two separate Interstate 15 highway bridges over the 400 South roadway in Orem, Utah were demolished after 50 years of service. Four post-tensioned girders were salvaged from both the north-bound and south-bound bridge. A series of tests was performed with these girders in the System Material And Structural Health Laboratory (SMASH Lab). The girders were tested with different loading criteria to determine the strength and material properties of the girder. The experimental results were compared with the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials Load Resistance Factored Design (AASHTO LRFD) Bridge Design Specifications and a finite-element model using ANSYS. The AASHTO LRFD Specification was fairly conservative on predicting capacity and capable of predicting the type of failure that occurred. The ANSYS model was developed and calibrated to model the girder behavior. The concrete properties in the model were significantly adjusted in order to be comparable to the experimental results. Further exploration in ANSYS needs to be done to precisely model the actual behavior of the girder.

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