Steel girders with new splices can handle almost as much load.
The behavior of spliced steel girders under static loading was studied. Two types of splices were tested: bearing type and friction-grip type. The maximum test load for girders with bearing type splices was 34-67% of the reference girder, while for girders with friction-grip splices it was 90-99% of the reference girder. Analytical results matched experimental results well, with a maximum deflection difference of less than 15% at maximum load for all girders.