Shear Lag Effect Analysis of Cantilever Tapered Box Girders with Corrugated Steel Webs Considering Resal Effect

This study presents a comprehensive analysis of the shear lag effect in cantilever tapered box girders with corrugated steel webs (BGCSWs) under concentrated loading. The findings indicate that the Resal effect significantly influences the effective shear force in the CSWs, thereby altering the shear lag behavior in tapered BGCSWs. A modified method for predicting the shear lag effect, which explicitly incorporates the Resal effect, is subsequently proposed. Experimental results and finite element (FE) simulations demonstrate that the proposed formulas achieve high computational accuracy, whereas conventional methods outlined in existing standards exhibit considerable discrepancies when compared to the modified calculations. Furthermore, this study is the first to explore the mechanism by which the Resal effect influences the shear lag effect in cantilever tapered BGCSWs. The results reveal that the Resal effect redistributes shear forces across the BGCSWs, resulting in both negative and positive shear lag effects—phenomena not previously documented in the literature. Specifically, in regions near the fixed end of the tapered BGCSWs, the Resal effect induces a negative shear lag effect, reducing both the normal stress and shear lag coefficient. Conversely, in other regions of the cantilever BGCSWs, the Resal effect generates a positive shear lag effect, leading to an increase in both normal stress and the shear lag coefficient. Conventional calculation methods that neglect the Resal effect tend to inaccurately estimate the normal stress distribution in BGCSWs.