Probabilistic Fatigue Evaluation of Riveted Railway Bridges
Publication: Journal of Bridge Engineering
Volume 13, Issue 3
Abstract
A probabilistic fatigue assessment methodology for riveted railway bridges is presented. The methodology is applied to a typical, short-span, riveted U.K. railway bridge under historical and present day train loading. On the loading side, the problem is randomized through dynamic amplification and traffic volume; on the resistance side, the S-N curves and the cumulative damage model are treated probabilistically. Model uncertainty is represented by the ratio between actual and calculated stresses, the latter obtained through finite element analysis. Annual response spectra for a fatigue-critical connection are developed through Monte Carlo simulation, which show that there is a continual and accelerating increase in the mean stress range experienced by the connection with time. S-N curves proposed in United States and United Kingdom codes are used in combination with Miner’s rule, to estimate the remaining fatigue life of the connection for different target failure probabilities. Parametric studies revealed that fatigue life estimates exhibit the highest sensitivity to detail classification, to S-N predictions in the region of high endurances, and to model uncertainty. This highlights the importance of field monitoring for old bridges approaching the end of their useful life.
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Acknowledgments
The work described in this paper forms part of a project supported by Network Rail. The opinions expressed are those of the writers and do not necessarily represent those of the sponsoring organizations. We would like to thank Mr. Brian Bell, Network Rail project officer for valuable discussions and feedback.
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Bridge Engineering
Volume 13 • Issue 3 • May 2008
Pages: 237 - 244
Copyright
© 2008 ASCE.
History
Received: Dec 18, 2006
Accepted: Sep 5, 2007
Published online: May 1, 2008
Published in print: May 2008
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