C7 Advanced design of bridges

Jakub Dolejš
Tomáš Rotter
List of lectures

1. Loading of bridges
2. Load capacity of plate girder web
3. Basis of fracture mechanics
4. Cable stayed and suspension bridges
5. Railway bridges with ballast bed
6. Road bridges with orthotropic deck
7. Spatial interaction of bridge structures
8. Bridges with arched plan, rigid frame bridges
9. Arch bridges
10. Loading tests of steel bridges
11. Fatigue
12. Modelling of bridges
13. Load-carrying capacity of steel bridges

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 Objectives

General Objectives of the lecture 11

Definitions

Fatigue strength

Details
• General
EN 1993-1-9
• Definitions
• Fatigue strength
• Details
• EN 1993-1-9

(Romeijn)
3
 Objectives

General General
Definitions

Fatigue strength

Details • Metal fatigue is a well-known phenomenon

EN 1993-1-9 – Wohler - German engineer – fatigue of railroad car axles

• Steel bridges are susceptible to localized failures-cracking

due to fatigue.

• Fatigue failure

- predetermined crack length,

- or loss of stiffness,
- or separation of the component being designed

• Fatigue crack propagation usually precedes brittle fracture

 Objectives

General Definitions
Definitions

Fatigue strength

Details – fatigue
EN 1993-1-9
• The process of initiation and propagation of cracks through
a structural part due to action of fluctuating stress
– design life
• The reference period of time for which a structure is
required to perform safely with an acceptable probability
that failure by fatigue cracking will not occur.
– fatigue life
• The predicted period of time to cause fatigue failure under
the application of the design spectrum.
 Objectives

General Definitions
Definitions

Fatigue strength

Details

EN 1993-1-9
– stress history
• A record or a calculation of the stress variation at a particular
point in a structure during a loading event.
– rainflow method
• Particular cycle counting method of producing a stress-range
spectrum from a given stress history.
– reservoir method
• Particular cycle counting method of producing a stress-range
spectrum from a given stress history.
 Objectives

General Definitions
Definitions

Fatigue strength

Details

EN 1993-1-9 – nominal stress

• A stress in the parent material or in a weld adjacent to a potential
crack location calculated in accordance with elastic theory
excluding all stress concentration effects.
– stress range
• The algebraic difference between the two extremes of a particular
stress cycle derived from a stress history.
– stress-range spectrum
• Histogram of the number of occurrences for all stress ranges of
different magnitudes recorded or calculated for a particular
loading event.
 Objectives

General Fatigue strength

Definitions

Fatigue strength

Details

EN 1993-1-9
• Fatigue is caused by the stress range experienced by the detail
due to applied cyclic live loading.

• Other influences:
– Stress concentrations at weld toes in poorly designed details
– Internal defects and heat affected zones in welded
connections
– Detail configurations that simulate a large initial pre-crack
– Out-of-plane distortion of girder web gaps due to unaccounted
secondary lateral forces.
 Objectives

General Fatigue strength

Definitions

Fatigue strength

Details
Actual stress history
EN 1993-1-9
 Objectives

General Fatigue strength

Definitions

Fatigue strength

Details Reference stress history

EN 1993-1-9
 Objectives

General Fatigue strength

Definitions

Fatigue strength

Details

EN 1993-1-9
• Alternating cyclic stresses (even in the elastic range) cause
fatigue failure in metal components or details.

– Fatigue crack initiation

– Fatigue crack propagation
– Brittle fracture

• Fundamental fatigue behavior of a metal is expressed in

terms of a constant amplitude cyclic stress range vs. number
of cycles to failure (Sr - N) curve.
 Objectives

General Fatigue strength

Definitions

Fatigue strength

Details Fatigue failure process

EN 1993-1-9
 Objectives

General Details
Definitions

Fatigue strength

Details Crack is initiated at a discontinuity (weld)

EN 1993-1-9

([4] http://www.fgg.uni-lj.si/kmk/ESDEP)
 Objectives

General Details
Definitions

Fatigue strength

Details
Example of detail types
EN 1993-1-9
 Objectives

General Details
Definitions

Fatigue strength

Details
Example of construction details
EN 1993-1-9
 Objectives

General Details
Definitions

Fatigue strength

Details
Example of construction details
EN 1993-1-9
 Objectives

General EN 1993-1-9
Definitions

Fatigue strength

Details Detail class

EN 1993-1-9
 Objectives

General EN 1993-1-9
Definitions

Fatigue strength

Details Annex A [normative] – Determination of fatigue load

EN 1993-1-9 parameters and verification formats

Determination of loading events

Stress history at detail

 Objectives

General EN 1993-1-9
Definitions

Fatigue strength

Details Cycle counting

EN 1993-1-9

Stress range spectrum

Σn = 1,0
 Objectives

General EN 1993-1-9
Definitions

Fatigue strength

Details Cycles to failure

EN 1993-1-9

Damage summation
(Palmgren-Miner rule)

n
n Ei
Dd = ∑
i N Ri
Thank you
for your kind attention

21
Notes to users of the lecture

• This session is a basic information about actions on bridges

and requires about 60 min lecturing.
• The use of relevant standards of national standard institutions
are strongly recommended.
• Keywords for the lecture:
steel bridge, action, road bridge, railway bridge, Eurocodes,
fatigue.

References:
[1] Eurocode 3: Design of steel structures; Part 1.9: Fatigue
strength of steel structures.
[2] A. Romeijn - CT5126 Fatigue lecture book, 2006-7
[3] A. H. Varma – Michigan state university Special course on of
AASHTO LRFD Specifications, presentation 2003
[4] http://www.fgg.uni-lj.si/kmk/ESDEP

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