Laboratory research on functioning of bridge structures reinforced with induction brazing

Abstract

Welded metal bridge spans are one of the most wide-spread types of bridge spans, several thousand of them being in operation along motorways and in city areas in Russia. Similar to other welded structures they are prone to fatigue cracking which is usually repaired using metal plates fixed with high-strength bolts. The Siberian Research Institution of Bridges located in Siberian Transport University has developed the structure and technology of welded bridge span reinforcement using round metal plates fixed by induction brazing. To prove the efficiency of the technology a laboratory research and testing of girders reinforced with round metal plates fixed by induction brazing has been conducted. The research shows that after the induction brazing enforcement the bridge structures that have fatigue cracks obtain strength parameters 25 per cent higher compared to those of completely new unreinforced samples without fatigue cracks. The article is part of the dissertation research Usoltseva A.M.