Interaction between concrete slabs/supports

[Henrik97]

Hi, i modeling a concrete bridge in Abaqus. The bridge is 3D scanned, and everything seems fine, except the interactions between slab/supports. Any suggestions on how you would consider it in Abaqus? Ive tried different contact behaviors, but the theory is so complicated that i cannot really justify whats best. Thank you

 

[FEA way]

Connections in the analysis should represent (with a possibly low level of simplification) the actual interface between the parts. Regular contact may not be sufficient if there is some adhesive for instance. There are surely some research papers that discuss the modeling of such connections.