Precast girders and cast-in-place decks are a typical type of concrete bridge construction. A key part of this type of construction is developing composite action between the girder and deck. In order to develop composite action, adequate horizontal shear resistance must be provided at the interface. As lightweight concrete is increasingly being used in bridge designs, it is important to understand the horizontal shear behavior of lightweight concrete.

The current AASHTO LRFD Specification provides design equations for horizontal shear strength of both lightweight and normal weight concrete. Thirty-six push-off tests were performed to determine if the current code equations accurately predict the horizontal shear strength of precast girders and cast-in-place decks for both normal weight and lightweight concrete. The different test series investigated effects from lightweight and normal weight concrete used for the girder/slab combination and the quantity of shear reinforcement provided across the interface.

The test results were compared to the results predicted by current design equations. A structural reliability analysis was performed and the test-to-predicted statistics were used to define LRFD resistance factors and quantify the probability of failure. The current design equations were found to be conservative and more conservative for lightweight concrete than for normal weight concrete.