Abstract
Bridge superstructures consisting of reinforced concrete slabs, supported by steel beams are of common occurrence in the short to medium span range. For the design of these bridges the magnitude and sense of stresses caused by applied concentrated vertical loading are of primary importance. This investigation considers a number of analytical techniques for determining such stress distributions. The various techniques are first described in detail. They are then evaluated using a number of criteria (complexity, apparent accuracy, limits of field of application) relevant to practical bridge design. Consideration is made in two broad divisions; the overall stress distribution and the local effects adjacent to a wheel load. It is shown by analysis and confirmed by experiment that the load distributing properties of the superstructure are considerable, and therefore that economic design requires suitable analytical techniques to be available.