Full-Range S-N Fatigue-Life Evaluation Method for Welded Bridge Structures Considering Hot-Spot and Welding Residual Stress
Publication: Journal of Bridge Engineering
Volume 21, Issue 12
Abstract
Fatigue cracking is crucial issue for welded steel bridges that endure repeated vehicle loads. With typical fatigue-life evaluation methods, it is difficult to consider the influence of low stress amplitude. Based on existing full-range S-N curves and their formulas for base metal, a unified fatigue-life evaluation method is recommended for welded joints. The basis for construction of full-range S-N curves is to obtain the welding residual stress and stress concentration factor. In this paper, rib-to-deck welded joints are introduced as examples to demonstrate the detailed steps of a fatigue-life evaluation procedure. From the analysis of welding residual stress, it can be concluded that residual stress is influenced by the geometric dimensions of the composite members. With an increase in the geometric dimensions, the level of residual stress is increased. In addition, static-load experiments were conducted to obtain the stress concentration factor. A hot-spot full-range S-N curve was then obtained for rib-to-deck welded joints by calibrating the formula from small quantities of fatigue experiments. An actual bridge installed with a structural health monitoring system (SHMS) was used as a case study to compare the recommended model with typical fatigue codes. The comparison results indicate that the recommended model is more conservative than typical fatigue codes.
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Acknowledgments
The authors gratefully acknowledge the National Basic Research Program of China (973 Program, No. 2015CB060000), the National Science and Technology Support Program of China (No. 2014BAG07B01), the Key Program of the National Natural Science Foundation (No. 51438002), the Program of National Natural Science Foundation (No. 51578138, 51508251), the Natural Science Fund for Colleges and Universities in Jiangsu Province (No. 15KJB560005), the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities and the Innovation Plan Program for Ordinary University Graduates of Jiangsu Province in 2014 (No. KYLX-0156), the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (No. 2242016K41066), the Jinling Institute of Technology High-Level Personnel Work Activation Fee to Fund Projects (No. jit-b-201614), and the Scientific Research Foundation of Graduate School of Southeast University (No. YBJJ1441).
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Information & Authors
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Published In
Journal of Bridge Engineering
Volume 21 • Issue 12 • December 2016
Copyright
© 2016 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Nov 23, 2015
Accepted: May 27, 2016
Published online: Aug 8, 2016
Published in print: Dec 1, 2016
Discussion open until: Jan 8, 2017
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