Reliability-Based Condition Assessment of Welded Miter Gate Structures
Publication: Journal of Infrastructure Systems
Volume 7, Issue 3
Abstract
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is working to develop rational policies for prioritizing in-service inspection, maintenance, and repair policies for aging locks and dams on the inland waterway system using structural reliability methods and principles of risk management. Comparisons of miter gate design criteria and performance observed in service reveal differences that are examined through finite-element-based reliability analysis. Finite-element analyses show that miter gates are overdesigned for ultimate strength limit states and have low-to-moderate stresses. However, premature fatigue damages have been found in a number of miter gates. Stochastic fracture mechanics identified contributing factors that significantly impact the probability of reaching the fatigue limit state: initial flaw size at weld details, inspection frequency, and inspection quality. The role of parameter uncertainty in gate fatigue performance during service life is depicted by a fragility that includes uncertainties in the strength of the gate structure, loads due to gate operations, and initial flaw size. Fragility assessment of the fatigue performance observed in two miter gates provides a means to evaluate observed performance. Fatigue performance can be enhanced by modest improvements in detailing practices and inspection methods.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
References
1.
Barsom, J. M., and Rolfe, S. T. ( 1987). Fracture and fatigue control in structures, Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, N.J.
2.
Cleary, D. B., Hookam, C. J., and Waller, J. W. ( 1996). “Development of miter gate reliability model.” Proc., 7th Spec. Conf., ASCE, New York, 862–865.
3.
Commander, B. C., Schulz, J. X., Goble, G. G., and Chasten, C. P. ( 1992). “Development of computer modeling techniques for miter lock gates.” Rep. 1; “Field test and analysis correlation at John Hollis Bankhead Lock and Dam.” Rep. 2, ITL-92-12, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Waterways Experiment Station, Vicksburg, Miss.
4.
Ellingwood, B. R. ( 1993). “Load and resistance factor design for steel miter gates.” ITL-93-4, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Waterways Experiment Station, Vicksburg, Miss.
5.
Ellingwood, B. R. ( 1994). “Validation of seismic probabilistic risk assessments of nuclear power plants.” NUREG/GR-0008, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission,
6.
Ellingwood, B. R., Bhattacharya, B., and Zheng, R. ( 1996). “Reliability-based condition assessment of steel containments and liners.” NUREG/CR-5442, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission,
7.
Ellingwood, B. R., and Mori, Y. ( 1993). “Probabilistic methods for condition assessment and life prediction of concrete structures in nuclear power plants.” Nuclear Engrg., and Design, Vol. 142, 155–166.
8.
Engesvik, K. M., and Moan, T. ( 1983). “Probabilistic analysis of uncertainty in fatigue capacity of welded joints.” Engrg. Fracture Mech., 18(4), 743–762.
9.
Fisher, J. W., Yen, B. T., and Wang, D. ( 1989). “Fatigue of bridge structures—Commentary and guide for design, evaluation and investigation of cracking.” ATLSS Rep. No. 89-02, Lehigh University, Bethlehem, Pa.
10.
Frank, K. H. ( 1993). “Nondestructive evaluation problems in steel bridges.” Proc., Conf. on Nondestructive Evaluation of Bridges, Final Rep. FHWA-RD-93-040A, Turner-Fairbanks Hwy. Res. Ctr., Federal Highway Administration, McLean, Va.
11.
Gurney, T. R. ( 1979). Fatigue of welded structures, Cambridge University Press, New York.
12.
Hartman, J., Gibson, J., and Nelson, M. ( 1987). “Finite element studies of horizontally framed miter gate.” Rep. 7, ITL-87-4, Rep. 7, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Waterways Experiment Station, Vicksburg, Miss.
13.
Hassan, A. F., and Bowman, M. D. (1996). “Fatigue crack repair of steel beams with tapered cover plate details.”J. Struct. Engrg., 122(11), 1337–1346.
14.
James, R., and Zhang, L. ( 1996). “Fatigue cracking evaluation of Markland Miter Gates.” Rep. ANA-96-0201, Anatech Consulting Engineers, San Diego.
15.
Lukas, P. ( 1997). “Fatigue crack nucleation and microstructure.” ASM Handbook, Sect. 2, ASM International Handbook Committee, American Society for Metals, 96–109.
16.
Kathir, N. M. ( 1996). “Probabilistic assessment of miter gates.” Proc., 7th Spec. Conf., ASCE, New York, 866–869.
17.
Maddox, S. J. ( 1975). “Analysis of fatigue cracks in fillet welded joints.” Int. J. Fracture, 11(2), 221–243.
18.
Maddox, S. J. ( 2000). “Fatigue design rules for welded structures.” Progress in Struct. Engrg. and Mat., 2(1), 102–109.
19.
McAllister, T. P. ( 1999). “Assessing reliability of highly redundant welded steel frame structures,” PhD dissertation, Civ. Engrg. Dept., Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore.
20.
McKay, D. T., Rens, K. L., Greimann, L. F., and Stecker, J. H. (1999). “Condition index assessment for U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Civil Works.”J. Infrastruct. Sys., ASCE, 5(2), 52–60.
21.
Ortiz, K., and Kiremidjian, A. S. ( 1986). “Time series analysis of fatigue crack growth rate data.” Engrg. Fracture Mech., 24(5), 657–675.
22.
Provan, J. W. ( 1987). Probabilistic fracture mechanics and reliability, Kluwer Academic, Hingham, Mass.
23.
Riveros, G. A. ( 1996). User's guide: Computer program for design and investigation of horizontally framed miter gates using load and resistance factor design criteria (CMITERW-LRFD), Windows version, ITL 96-3, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Waterways Experiment Station, Vicksburg, Miss.
24.
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE). ( 1992). “Reliability assessment of navigation structures.” ETL-1110-2-532, Washington, D.C.
25.
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE). ( 1995). “Periodic inspection and continuing evaluation of completed civil works structures.” Engrg. Regulation 1110-2-100, Washington, D.C.
26.
Virkler, D. A., Hillberry, B. M., and Goel, P. K. ( 1978). “Statistical nature of fatigue crack propagation.” J. Engrg. Mat. and Technol., 101, 148–153.
27.
Yang, J. N., and Manning, S. D. ( 1996). “Simple second order approximation for stochastic crack growth analysis.” Engrg. Fracture Mech., 53(5), 677–686.
28.
Yao, J. T. P., Kosin, F., Wen, Y. K. Yang, J. N., Schuller, G. I., and Ditlevsin, O. ( 1986). “Stochastic fatigue, fracture and damage analysis.” Struct. Safety, 3, 231–267.
29.
Zheng, R., and Ellingwood, B. R. ( 1998). “Stochastic fatigue crack growth in steel structures subjected to random loading.” Struct. Safety, 20(4), 305–324.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Infrastructure Systems
Volume 7 • Issue 3 • September 2001
Pages: 95 - 106
History
Received: May 9, 2000
Published online: Sep 1, 2001
Published in print: Sep 2001
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.