No abstract

Uncoated weathering steel (UWS) bridges have been extensively used to reduce the lifecycle cost since they are maintenance-free and eco-friendly. However, the fatigue issue becomes significant in UWS bridges due to the intended corrosion process utilized to form the corrodent-proof rust layer instead of the coating process. In this paper, an innovative model is proposed to simulate the corrosion-fatigue (C-F) process in UWS bridges. Generally, the C-F process could be considered as two relatively independent stages in a time series, including the pitting process of flaw-initiation and the fatigue crack propagation of the critical pitting flaw. In the proposed C-F model, Faraday’s law has been employed at the critical flaw-initiation stage to describe the pitting process, in which the pitting current is applied to reflect the pitting rate in different corrosive environments. At the crack propagation stage, the influence of pitting corrosion is so small that it can be safely ignored. In simulating the crack propagation stage, the advanced NASGRO equation proposed by the NASA is employed instead of the classic Paris’ law, in which a modified fatigue limit is adopted. The fatigue limit is then used to determine the critical size of pitting flaws, above which the fatigue effect joins as a parallel driving force in crack propagation. The model is then validated through the experimental data from published articles at the initiation stage as well as the whole C-F process. Two types of structural steel, i.e., HPS 70W and 14MnNbq steel, have been selected to carry out a case study. The result shows that the C-F life can be notably prolonged in the HPS 70W due to the enhancement in fatigue strength and corrosion resistance. Besides, a sensitivity analysis has been made on the crucial parameters, including the stress range, stress ratio, corrosive environment and average daily truck traffic (ADTT). The result has revealed the different influence of the above parameters on the initiation life and propagation life.

Fatigue fractures can be frequently observed in welded joints in orthotropic steel decks (OSDs) after just a few decades of operation, which become the major deterioration mechanism deterring the serviceability of OSDs. In this paper, a novel dynamic Bayesian network (DBN) model has been established for the fatigue reliability analysis of OSDs at system-level. The exact inference algorithm is applied in the DBN model with discrete variables. Special modifications have been made on the existing algorithm to improve the computational efficiency in dealing with the deck system which consists of a considerable number of joints. Using the DBN model, the fatigue reliability of welded joints can be predicted and updated with the inspection and monitoring results at system-level. At the same time, a framework is established for the system-level reliability considering the fatigue fracture of rib-to-deck (RD) joints, the dominant cracking pattern affecting the serviceability of OSDs. For illustration, a typical OSD bridge in China has been selected to carry out a case study. To derive the stress spectrum required by the DBN model, the stochastic traffic model is employed, and the influence-based Monte Carlo simulations have been carried out. As a result, the fatigue reliability can be predicted at both component-and system-levels. Meanwhile, the observation of the traffic and the inspection result has been fused into the DBN model to update the deteriorating state of the deck system. Besides, the effect of enhancement and maintenance has been highlighted, including the 2 enhancement in fatigue strength at the construction stage, and the repair and traffic control during the operation stage.

As a critical component of a suspension bridge, the integrity of the suspenders plays a critical role in the serviceability and reliability of the bridge during its life time. Despite the wide recognition of the importance of the suspenders, very few studies have been devoted to the condition evaluation of suspenders in operation. The present study performs the fatigue assessment on the suspenders accounting for the stochastic wind and traffic loads using the in-situ monitoring data. To this end, a probabilistic numerical framework is proposed to predict the time-dependent fatigue reliability of the suspenders under stochastic wind and traffic loads during the bridge’s life time, based on the linear fatigue damage rule. As a demonstration, the proposed numerical framework is applied to a long-span suspension bridge located in a mountainous canyon. The results indicate that it is of paramount importance to consider both the wind and traffic load effects in the fatigue reliability evaluation of the suspenders. In addition, it was also found that among the suspenders under investigation, the short suspender at the bridge mid-span (S36) is more prone to the fatigue damage, while the long suspender at the end of the bridge girder (S2) is less prone to the fatigue damage. Finally, provided with a target reliability index of 3.0, the fatigue life of the suspenders S36 and S2, considering the life time wind and traffic load, is estimated as 53 years and 167 years, respectively. The present research could provide essential guidelines for the optimization of inspection and replacement in maintenance practices for suspenders.