Comparative Study on Fatigue Design of Orthotropic Steel Bridge Deck Based on Different Codes

We carried out comparative research on anti-fatigue design methods in AASHTO, Eurocode, Japan bridge type book and Chinese code for the Nanjing Yangtze River Third Bridge. We comparatively analyzed the similarities and differences of four codes on the fatigue safety criteria, the fatigue strength grade division and the standard fatigue model. The results show that: ① Eurocode and Japanese code contains the idea of cumulative damage design, although the calculation is large but more realistic; ② for fatigue strength grade division, Japanese and American code is similar, the Eurocode is the most comprehensive and meticulous, while Chinese code is based on Eurocode and the classification of fatigue details needs to be further improved; and ③ there are some differences in axle weight, wheelbase and landing area of standard fatigue model in four codes. Chinese code axle weight is the same as Eurocode which has the largest fatigue effect, and the engineering application is safe.