A B S T R A C TThe first parametric investigation about corrosion fatigue (CF) behaviour of pre-split high-strength galvanized steel wires was conducted for perfecting the design and maintenance of modern bridge cable structures. Counting the cycle number to failure presents that lower fatigue endurance always correlates with higher stress amplitude, while decrease in load ratio and/or increase in cyclic load frequency significantly prolongs the CF life. Electron fractography indicates that the fatigue crack growth rate of the steel wires is lower in air with the presence of tyre tracks on the fracture surface, and faster in aggressive media resulting from anodic dissolution and crack opening displacement at the crack tips. Longer CF endurance of bridge cable steel wires can be expected through ideal thermo-mechanical treatment after the successive cold drawing, for a significant benefit on corrosion resistance and microstructure improvement.

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