Structural Stress Analysis of Trough to Deck Plate Weld in Orthotropic Steel Bridge Decks

A comparative study among five methods to calculate the structural stress of the trough to deck plate joint in orthotropic steel deck was carried out. The five methods used are surface stress extrapolation method (SSE), Haibach method, Xiao and Yamada method and CAB method. FEM analysis shows the five methods are mesh sensitive. Structural stress calculated using element type solid95 is larger than that of solid45. For fine and medium mesh model, structural stress calculated by Haibach method is larger than other methods, which means a lower fatigue life. Structural stress calculated by Yamada method is lower than other methods, which means a higher fatigue life than that calculated by other methods. For coarse mesh model, structure stress calculated by quadratic extrapolation method is larger than other methods, and, structural stress calculated by Yamada method is much lower than other methods.

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Welding-induced Residual Stresses in U-Ribs of a Steel Bridge Deck

Periodica Polytechnica Civil Engineering ◽

10.3311/ppci.18112 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Huili Wang ◽

Sifeng Qin ◽

Ben Wang ◽

Shaobo Zhou

Keyword(s):

Residual Stresses ◽

Body Force ◽

Welding Process ◽

Influential Factors ◽

Steel Bridge ◽

Heat Generation Rate ◽

Finite Element Software ◽

Deck Plate ◽

Source Models ◽

Steel Deck

To calculate the welding-induced residual stresses in U-ribs of the steel deck plate and conduct quantitative analysis of influential factors, the U-ribs of steel deck plate of Xinghai Bay Bridge was taken as the research object. In the ABAQUS finite element software, the local models of U-ribs of steel deck plate were established. Nodal body force loads, i.e., heat generation rate, of the double ellipsoidal heat source models were applied via the compiled subsidiary Dflux program. The welding process of the v-groove welds was simulated, to obtain the residual stresses distribution in the top plate and U-rib plates. The influence of thickness of top plate and angle of welding groove on the residual stresses in the U-ribs were studied. The results show that the welding-induced residual stresses calculated by the numerical method proposed in this paper agree well with the experimental data. The maximum residual stresses in the top plates and the U-rib plates all occur near the welds, which exceeds the yielding limitation of the material. As the thickness of top plate increases, the maximum values of residual stresses in the top plates and U-ribs increase. However, with the increase of groove angle, the maximum values of residual stresses in the top plates and U-rib plates decrease.

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Proactive maintenance method for fatigue cracks to steel bridge deck without traffic disruption

IABSE Congress, New York, New York 2019: The Evolving Metropolis ◽

10.2749/newyork.2019.2745 ◽

2019 ◽

Author(s):

Ryo Nakata ◽

Yukio Adachi

Keyword(s):

Fatigue Damage ◽

Fatigue Resistance ◽

Bridge Deck ◽

Fatigue Cracks ◽

New Method ◽

Steel Bridge ◽

Traffic Demand ◽

Deck Plate ◽

Steel Deck ◽

Proactive Maintenance

Fatigue damage is a major topic in bridge maintenance. The fatigue damage to steel bridge deck has been dramatically increasing since the first fatigue damage was observed in Hanshin expressway in early 2000s. Insufficient knowledge of bridge fatigue design and unexpected increase of traffic demand and heavy vehicle could be the cause of the fatigue damage.Replacement of base pavement course to steel fiber reinforced concrete (SFRC) has been generally used for strengthening of steel decks; however, the countermeasure from the topside of the bridge deck could make serious traffic disruption. Therefore, reactive and proactive maintenance for such steel decks has not been well progressed so far.According to the background above, Hanshin expressway has been making an effort on developing new method by strengthening steel deck from the bottom side. The idea of the new method is to enhance fatigue resistance by improving the weld joint between deck plate and U-rib plate. Three potential methods were identified and the effectiveness of those methods was studied in field for making sure of not only fatigue resistance improvement but also field construction.This paper will introduce the new retrofit methods for steel deck and describe the effectiveness of those methods.

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In Situ Experimental Study on the Behavior of UHPC Composite Orthotropic Steel Bridge Deck

Materials ◽

10.3390/ma13010253 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 13 (1) ◽

pp. 253 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Li Su ◽

Shilei Wang ◽

Yan Gao ◽

Jianlei Liu ◽

Xudong Shao

Keyword(s):

High Performance ◽

High Performance Concrete ◽

Fatigue Cracks ◽

Steel Bridge ◽

Orthotropic Steel Deck ◽

Deck Plate ◽

In Situ Experiments ◽

Before And After ◽

Steel Deck

A novel ultra high performance concrete (UHPC) layer composite orthotropic steel deck was adopted in the construction of a new bridge in China to improve the fatigue performance of the orthotropic steel deck plate and reduce the disease of surface wearing layer. In situ experiments were conducted to study the UHPC layer’s impact on the behavior of the orthotropic steel deck. The test vehicle loads were applied on the deck plate before and after UHPC layer paving, the stresses where fatigue cracks usually occur and the deflections of critical sections were measured. The test results verified that the UHPC composite steel deck system could significantly reduce the stress of the rib-to-deck connection region and the stress at the bottom toe of rib-to-diaphragm weld. In addition, it slightly influenced the performance of U shape rib, girder web-to-deck and diaphragm cutout.

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Master S-N Curve-Based Fatigue Life Assessment of Steel Bridges Using Finite Element Model and Field Monitoring Data

International Journal of Structural Stability and Dynamics ◽

10.1142/s0219455419400133 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 19 (01) ◽

pp. 1940013 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

X. W. Ye ◽

Y. H. Su ◽

T. Jin ◽

B. Chen ◽

J. P. Han

Keyword(s):

Finite Element ◽

Fatigue Life ◽

Welded Joint ◽

Element Model ◽

Field Monitoring ◽

Life Assessment ◽

Monitoring Data ◽

Steel Bridge ◽

Structural Stress ◽

Fatigue Life Assessment

The accuracy of fatigue life assessment for the welded joint in a steel bridge is largely dependent on an appropriate [Formula: see text]-[Formula: see text] curve. In this paper, a master [Formula: see text]-[Formula: see text] curve-based fatigue life assessment approach for the welded joint with an open-rib in orthotropic steel bridge deck is proposed based on the finite element model (FEM) and field monitoring data from structural health monitoring (SHM) system. The case studies on fatigue life assessment by use of finite element analysis (FEA) for constant-amplitude cyclic loading mode and field monitoring data under variable-amplitude cyclic loading mode are addressed. In the case of FEA, the distribution of structural stress at fatigue-prone weld toe is achieved using 4-node shell element model and then transformed into equivalent structural stress by fracture mechanics theory. The fatigue life of the welded joint is estimated with a single master [Formula: see text]-[Formula: see text] curve in the form of equivalent structural stress range versus the cycles to failure. In the case of monitoring data-based fatigue life assessment, the daily history of structural stress at diaphragm to U-rib is derived from the raw strain data measured by the instrumented fiber Bragg grating (FBG) sensors and transformed into equivalent structural stress. The fatigue life of the investigated welded joint is calculated by cyclic counting method and Palmgren–Miner linear damage cumulative rule. The master [Formula: see text]-[Formula: see text] curve method provides an effective fatigue life assessment process, especially when the nominal stress is hard to be defined. A single master [Formula: see text]-[Formula: see text] curve will facilitate to solve the difficulty in choosing a proper [Formula: see text]-[Formula: see text] curve which is required in the traditional fatigue life assessment methods.

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Nonlinear Optimization of Orthotropic Steel Deck System Based on Response Surface Methodology

Research ◽

10.34133/2020/1303672 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 2020 ◽

pp. 1-22

Author(s):

Wei Huang ◽

Minshan Pei ◽

Xiaodong Liu ◽

Chuang Yan ◽

Ya Wei

Keyword(s):

Response Surface Methodology ◽

Response Surface ◽

Nonlinear Optimization ◽

Optimization Design ◽

Bridge Deck ◽

Structural Parameters ◽

Design Parameters ◽

Steel Bridge ◽

Deck Plate ◽

Steel Deck

The steel bridge deck system, directly subjected to the vehicle load, is an important component to be considered in the optimization design of the bridges. Due to its complex structure, the design parameters are coupled with each other, and many fatigue details in the system result in time-consuming calculation during structure optimization. In view of this, a nonlinear optimization method based on the response surface methodology (RSM) is proposed in this study to simplify the design process and to reduce the amount of calculations during optimization. The optimization design of the steel bridge deck system with two-layer pavement on the top of the steel deck plate is taken as an example, the influence of eight structural parameters is considered. The Box-Behnken design is used to construct a sample space in which the eight structural parameters can be distributed evenly to reduce the calculation workload. The finite element method is used to model the mechanical responses of the steel bridge deck system. From the regression analysis by the RSM, the explicit relationships between the fatigue details and the design parameters can be obtained, based on which the nonlinear optimization design of the bridge deck system is conducted. The influence of constraint functions, objective functions, and optimization algorithms is also analyzed. The method proposed in this study is capable of considering the influence of different structural parameters and different optimization objectives according to the actual needs, which will effectively simplify the optimization design of the steel bridge deck system.

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Properties and Mechanism Analyse of High-Elasticity Modified Asphalt

Key Engineering Materials ◽

10.4028/www.scientific.net/kem.599.212 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 599 ◽

pp. 212-217

Author(s):

Zeng Heng Hao ◽

Bo Gao

Keyword(s):

Fatigue Life ◽

Bridge Deck ◽

Asphalt Mixture ◽

Fatigue Cracking ◽

Fatigue Properties ◽

Dissipated Energy ◽

Steel Bridge ◽

Modified Asphalt ◽

High Elasticity ◽

Steel Deck

Aiming at the fatigue cracking problem of the asphalt mixture on steel deck pavement surface, high-elasticity modified asphalt was developed. high-temperature properties, low-temperature properties and fatigue properties of modified asphalt and modified asphalt mixture were tested. The fatigue life of high-elasticity modified asphalt has been greatly improved, which was at least 25 times as long as that of common asphalt. The mechanism was explained clearly that the fatigue life of asphalt mixture could be improved by reducing the failure energy after each hysteresis loop of asphalt mixture, according to the dissipated energy theory for asphalt mixture. Projects proved that high-elasticity modified asphalt extremely improved the fatigue life of asphalt mixture on the steel bridge deck.

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Can 100-year-old steel railroad bridges continue to be used in service?

IABSE Congress, New York, New York 2019: The Evolving Metropolis ◽

10.2749/newyork.2019.1377 ◽

2019 ◽

Author(s):

Anna M. Rakoczy ◽

Duane Otter

Keyword(s):

Probabilistic Method ◽

Probabilistic Methods ◽

Steel Bridge ◽

Accurate Assessment ◽

Railway Bridges ◽

Railroad Bridges ◽

Service Testing ◽

Deck Plate ◽

Steel Deck ◽

Plate Girder

More than 50 percent of steel deck plate girder railway bridges in North America exceed 100 years in service. This includes more than 14,000 spans with a total length of 145 miles that remain in service. The oldest bridges are close to 150 years old. For these aging structures, there is a special need to develop reliable procedures to evaluate their fitness for continued service. Simplified calculations and conservative assumptions often lead to spurious outcomes that indicate older structures ceased to be functional decades ago. Even if a steel bridge reaches its estimated fatigue life, the structure might be fit for future service and perhaps for a significant period of time. Fitness for service assessments that utilize probabilistic methods, and that are informed by and consistent with detailed physical inspections of the structures, provide a more accurate assessment of the fitness and expected life of bridges. In this paper, a probabilistic method is demonstrated on three, riveted deck plate girder spans that exceed 100 years of service. The spans are currently located at the Facility for Accelerated Service Testing.

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