Fatigue of steel bridge infrastructure

Abstract

This paper presents an overview of the development of fatigue design provisions and detailing for steel bridge structures. The historical performance of welded steel bridges in the USA is reviewed with focus on fatigue cracking at cover plate and similar attachment details, as well as distortion induced cracking at web gaps. The role of materials including modern high performance steels (HPS) is reviewed. Variable amplitude loading is also examined and compared with current design of steel bridges for fatigue resistance. Also examined are methods to improve and retrofit fatigue sensitive details, including modern post-weld enhancement by ultrasonic impact treatment (UIT). Orthotropic steel decks are reviewed based on the results of two full-scale prototype laboratory fatigue tests which identified the complex behaviour that occurs at fatigue sensitive details and were verified by field measurements on field installations. The merits of thin epoxy concrete wearing surfaces is examined in terms of the critical role the deck plate thickness has on the epoxy concrete fatigue resistance and durability. The orthotropic deck is the only bridge deck system likely to provide a 100 year life when the deck plate thickness equals or exceeds 16 mm.

Perçi̇nli̇ Çeli̇k Köprü Elemanlarinin Yorulma Ömrü Tespi̇ti̇ Çalişmalari

“…Bu tesir çizgileri daha sonra Fisher, Yen ve Wang (1987;1989) tarafından sunulan "Rainflow Counting" işlemine tabi tutularak elemanın bu yükler altındaki gerilme tekrar sayıları elde edilmiştir.…”

An efficient methodology for fatigue damage assessment of bridge details using modal superposition of stress intensity factors

“…In the particular case of composite and steel railway bridges, fatigue is one of the main causes of severe damage [1][2][3][4]. The relevance of this topic is reflected by the increasing number of numerical and experimental fatigue damage assessment studies performed on railway bridges [5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12].…”

Stochastic Traffic-Based Fatigue Life Assessment of Rib-to-Deck Welding Joints in Orthotropic Steel Decks with Thickened Edge U-Ribs

“…For many cases, the OSD has become a crucial symbol of modern steel bridges. Further, the OSD is also believed as the only deck system that can provide an engineering service life of more than 100 years [3].…”