Engineering Structures 272 (2022) 114967

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Engineering Structures
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/engstruct

Fatigue reliability analysis considering corrosion effects and integrating

SHM information
Xu Han a, Dan M. Frangopol b, *
a
Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering, ATLSS Engineering Research Center, Lehigh Univ. 117 ATLSS Dr, Bethlehem, PA 18015, USA
b
Professor and the Fazlur R. Khan Endowed Chair of Structural Engineering and Architecture, Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering, ATLSS Engineering Research
Center, Lehigh Univ, 117 ATLSS Dr, Bethlehem, PA 18015, USA

A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T

Keywords: Fatigue cracking is a common problem facing steel bridges. S-N curves have been adopted in design specifications
Fatigue to offer guidance on fatigue design of these bridges. Structural health monitoring (SHM) techniques can provide
Corrosion reliable information on stress states at fatigue-prone details using strain sensors, thereby circumventing complex
Reliability
theoretical analyses. When corrosion is present, simply relying on SHM information obtained through the
SHM
Finite element analysis
monitoring period may not be sufficient to reliably estimate the damage incurred by corrosion-enhanced fatigue
as corrosion is a long-term process and the time-variant effect of corrosion on fatigue needs to be determined. In
this paper, time-variant analysis is used to estimate the reliability of fatigue-prone details at the coped region of a
transverse diaphragm in a tied-arch bridge. Stress histograms obtained based on SHM information associated
with this case study are utilized to establish the distribution of the original effective stress. Finite element
analysis is conducted for (a) determining the spatial adjustment factor (SAF) to adjust the stress range obtained at
the location of strain sensors, and (b) assessing the effect of corrosion on the effective stress range. The reliability
analysis results show that for the fatigue details investigated in this case study, corrosion has a significant effect
on the fatigue reliability and, therefore, should be considered in the life-cycle management of fatigue-prone
details.

1. Introduction
Fatigue is a primary concern for steel bridges, as the connections
between different steel plates are prone to develop fatigue cracks under
stress cycles induced by traffic. Without proper management, fracture
may occur at fatigue-prone details, causing severe failure consequences.
In this regard, it is necessary to estimate the fatigue strength of fatigue-
prone details and the associated remaining service life in order to
perform timely interventions. According to [1], the fatigue process can
be divided into three phases, namely, the crack initiation phase, the
crack-propagation phase, and the final fracture stage. Since the begin­
ning of the 19th century, research has been conducted to investigate all
three phases. A significant portion of research work was experiment-
oriented, which finally led to the creation of S-N curves. The theory of
S-N curves and cumulative damage criteria [2] based on S-N curves have
been incorporated in design specifications all over the world [3]. Most of
cyclic load tests are carried out on small-scale specimens with a constant
stress range amplitude, and large dispersions of the number of cycles to
failure under the same loading condition have been recorded. In addi­
tion, the stress-cycles at fatigue-prone details in steel bridges induced by
vehicles have variable amplitudes [4]. The number of cycles within a
certain period of time is also random. Given these uncertainties, prob­
abilistic approach should be adopted to determine the safety of fatigue-
prone details of interest. A series of fatigue-test projects have been
launched by the National Cooperative Highway Research Program
(NCHRP) in the 1970s. Regression analyses were performed on the test
results and the relationship between the mean of log S and log N was
obtained, where S and N are the stress range and number of cycles to
failure, respectively. The mean log S – log N curve is shifted below and
parallel by two standard deviations [5]. This shifted curve is adopted in
design specifications, such as [3], to account for the safety margin in
design. So far, some studies have taken the uncertainties associated with
the S-N curve in AASHTO into consideration and performed reliability
analysis on fatigue-prone details in steel bridges. Zhao et al. [6] con­
ducted fatigue reliability analysis on a full-penetration butt weld using
AASHTO S-N curves. Tobias and Foutch [7] carried out fatigue

* Corresponding author.
E-mail addresses: xuh216@lehigh.edu (X. Han), dan.frangopol@lehigh.edu (D.M. Frangopol).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.engstruct.2022.114967
Received 3 December 2021; Received in revised form 2 August 2022; Accepted 11 September 2022
Available online 29 September 2022
0141-0296/© 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
X. Han and D.M. Frangopol
Fig. 1. Crack at the coped region of the transverse diagram (adapted
from [16]).
reliability analysis on railway bridges using S-N approach, in which the
stress range is obtained through realistic traffic simulation. Imam and
his co-workers conducted several studies on the fatigue reliability of
riveted connections in railway bridges [8–10].
Fatigue-prone details are classified into several categories in bridge
design codes based on their fatigue resistance. One type of fatigue-prone
detail that is of special interest is the connection between longitudinal
main girders and the transverse diaphragm of steel bridges. Distortion-
induced fatigue is prone to occur at the gap between the connection
plate for the diaphragm and the top flange of the longitudinal girder. For
multi-girder bridges, the relative longitudinal displacement between
two adjacent girders can lead to out-of-plane bending of the diaphragm,
which results in the fatigue cracking at the end of the diaphragm [11].
For a tied-arch bridge, the relative displacement between the longitu­
dinal tie girder and top flange of the transverse diaphragm can cause
out-of-plane displacement of the diaphragm, facilitating the develop­
ment of cracks [12]. It is estimated that out-of-plane distortion or other
unanticipated secondary stresses at fatigue-sensitive details accounts for
nearly 90 % of fatigue cracking cases [13]. Different retrofit techniques
[13,14] have been proposed to address this issue, including drilling
holes at the end of the existing crack to arrest it, providing a positive
attachment between longitudinal girder and transverse diaphragm,
among others. Among all the retrofit techniques, softening the connec­
tion by cutting off part of its upper end is a preferable option, as it is
proved to be both cost-effective and efficient [15]. However, cutting off
the upper part of the end of diaphragm (the retrofitted diaphragm is
referred to as coped diaphragm) creates new fatigue-prone details at the
coped region. When the coped diaphragm is subjected to large in-plane/
out-of-plane bending stress, fatigue cracks may develop at the corner of
the coped region [16] shown in Fig. 1. Therefore, it is necessary to
evaluate the safety with respect to fatigue of the coped region.
Numerous studies have been carried out on the fatigue behavior of the
girder-to-diaphragm connections, such as Fisher and Keating [17],
Stallings et al. [18,19], and Fraser et al. [20], among others.
The stress state at fatigue-prone details at the connection between
longitudinal girders and transverse beams can be hard to determine
theoretically, as both in-plane and out-of-plane movements are involved
in generating stress at such details. Other factors such as imperfect ge­
ometry and residual stress can also influence the stress distribution at
the fatigue-prone detail. Information obtained through structural health
monitoring (SHM) can provide time-series strain data to make an ac­
curate diagnosis and prognosis of the safety level of the fatigue-prone
detail. SHM has found its applications in fatigue evaluation projects
associated with steel bridges, such as the I-64 Kanawha River Bridge
[21]. In these projects, strain gages are mounted on the location near the
fatigue-prone detail of interest by which the time history of stress
associated with the fatigue-prone detail can be recorded. Algorithms
such as rainflow counting method [22] are used to transfer the recorded
stress history into stress range histograms. Equivalent stress ranges of
2
Engineering Structures 272 (2022) 114967
constant amplitude are calculated based on the stress range histograms,
which are integrated into the S-N approach to determine the remaining
fatigue life. Information gathered from SHM facilitates the reliability
analysis of fatigue-prone details in steel bridges. Liu et al. [23] con­
ducted fatigue reliability assessment on the coped region of the trans­
verse diaphragm of a tied arch bridge in Pittsburg, PA. Kwon and
Frangopol [24] estimated fatigue reliability by first fitting the stress
range histogram with several probabilistic distributions, and calculating
equivalent stress range based on the fitted distributions. Soliman et al.
[25] performed reliability assessment of fatigue-prone details in I-39
bridge in Wisconsin using bilinear S-N curves. So far, fatigue analysis of
steel structures utilizing SHM information is abundant. Many studies
applied SHM on orthotropic steel deck for which fatigue is a critical
problem [26,27]. Ni et al. [28] obtained stress range histogram using
SHM and employed finite mixture distribution to represent the stress
range histogram. It is worth noting that SHM techniques have also been
used for reinforced concrete bridges to detect corrosion loss of steel
reinforcements [29]. SHM has been conducted on world-renowned
bridges to facilitate fatigue reliability analysis, such as Great Sea Belt
Bridge [30] and Manhattan Bridge [31]. In addition, advanced data-
driven models, such as machine learning model, have been adopted to
conduct fatigue reliability analysis integrating SHM information [32].
However, research efforts on multi-hazard analysis utilizing SHM in­
formation are insufficient.
Corrosion is another major hazard facing steel bridges. The interac­
tion between corrosion and fatigue may accelerate the fatigue crack
growth, thereby leading to further deterioration of the fatigue-prone
detail and a reduction of fatigue life. When corrosion exists, loss of
material near the fatigue-prone detail will engender a larger stress under
the same loading condition. The resultant larger stress range will inflict a
more severe damage on the fatigue-prone detail. Tragic accidents such
as the collapse of the Silver Bridge in 1967 [33] are bracing reminders of
the impact of corrosion-enhanced fatigue on the safety of structures.
Reliability analysis on coupled corrosion-fatigue has been conducted on
ship structures [34,35]. For steel bridges, Hosseini et al. [36] and Sah­
rapeyma et al. [37] conducted fatigue reliability assessment on a truss
bridge considering the amplification of stress range associated with the
reduced section of the truss members due to corrosion. The truss can be
considered as a group of axially-loaded members, which makes the in­
crease of stress ranges due to corrosion easy to be accounted for. How­
ever, in many cases where the structure of interest is in a complex stress
state, no closed-form solutions can be used to account for the increase of
stress range under corrosion. Adasooriya and Siriwardane [38] consid­
ered time-variant stress ranges in fatigue-prone details on a six-span
riveted railway bridge. The time-variant load stress histograms were
generated through the combination of traffic simulation and finite
element (FE) modeling. In that study, corrosion and fatigue are
considered in a deterministic manner. It should be noted that perfor­
mance of structures under corrosion and fatigue should be assessed from
a probabilistic perspective as both hazards are subjected to un­
certainties. Under normal operation conditions, the stresses resulting
from traffic loads are within the elastic range. Therefore, the stress range
associated with a fatigue detail under corrosion can be considered as the
product of the stress range without corrosion effects and a corrosion-
enhanced factor.
Currently, there has been a paucity of multi-hazard structural anal­
ysis utilizing SHM information, especially for structures subjected to
corrosion and fatigue. Most of the analysis in this regard has been
focused upon long-span suspension bridges [39], while the analysis
could be on many other types of bridges. Li et al. [40] used acoustic
emission sensors to obtain information on fatigue behavior of corroded
bridge cables. That study focused on the censoring techniques and the
effect of corrosion on fatigue stress range was not quantified. Ye et al.
[32] conducted corrosion fatigue life assessment of a suspension bridge
using SHM information, yet the influence of corrosion on effective fa­
tigue stress range was quantified using the cross-sectional area loss,
X. Han and D.M. Frangopol
which is a simplistic approach. Investigation on fatigue reliability of
structures subjected to corrosion-enhanced fatigue utilizing SHM in­
formation is worth carrying out. This SHM information is more reliable
than that obtained through theoretical analysis such as FE modeling. In
this paper, the case study of a tied-arch bridge is presented and analyzed.
Due to a lack of SHM information on corrosion, a hybrid investigation
approach on the fatigue reliability analysis of fatigue-prone details
subjected to corrosion-enhanced fatigue is adopted. In this approach,
information on fatigue (such as stress range histogram) is obtained
through SHM, while FE analysis is conducted to account for the corro­
sion effects on fatigue. Corrosion-enhanced factors associated with
several load cases and different boundary conditions are calculated to
obtain the stress range histogram under corrosion. The calculated fa­
tigue reliability profile takes into account the effect of corrosion on fa­
tigue reliability. The hybrid approach proposed herein to conduct life-
cycle probabilistic performance evaluation of transverse diaphragm
under complex stress states is innovative. The information obtained
from the case study presented is useful for decision-making for optimal
life-cycle management of steel bridges in corrosive environments.
2. Fatigue and corrosion modeling
2.1. Fatigue modeling
2.1.1. S-N approach
Two different approaches are widely used to conduct fatigue
assessment, namely S-N approach and fracture mechanics approach. The
linear S-N approach [41,42] is adopted in this paper.
In the S-N approach, fatigue strength of a structural detail is char­
acterized in terms of the relationship between stress range and number
of cycles to failure. This relationship is established based on the scat­
tered data from cyclic load tests, as a larger stress range is observed to
correspond to a smaller number of cycles to failure. In the design
specifications, an S-N curve is obtained by shifting the mean S-N curve
two standard deviations lower and is associated with a 2.3 % probability
of failure assuming normal life distribution of a fatigue-prone detail
under a given stress range [5]. To assess the fatigue life of a structural
detail deterministically, the mean S-N curve should be used [43].
The S-N curves are illustrated as sloping straight lines in logarithmic
scale. The associated equation is
( )1/m
A down. In this paper, a uniform thickness loss over the plate surface is
S= (1)
N adopted. The time-variant thickness of a steel plate can be expressed as
where S is the nominal fatigue stress range; A is fatigue resistance co­
efficient associated with a specific fatigue category; N is the number of
stress cycles; and m is a material constant indicating the slope of the S-N
curve.
Multiple damage criteria are used regarding the cumulative damage
incurred upon the fatigue-prone details by cyclic stress of variable
amplitude. Miner’s rule, which is the simplest and most widely used
criterion, is adopted in this paper. According to this rule, the damage
fraction of a certain stress range level increases linearly with the number
of applied stress cycles. The total damage inflicted upon a fatigue-prone
detail
∑
k
ni
D= (2)
Ni
i=1
is the sum of the damage associated with all the applied stress ranges,
where ni is the number of the i th stress range level (i = 1⋯k) and Ni is
number of cycles to failure at the i th stress range level. Failure is deemed
to occur when D = 1.0. In practice, D may be less than 1.0 due to un­
certainties of various sources [5].
3
Engineering Structures 272 (2022) 114967
2.1.2. Equivalent stress range calculation based on SHM information
When data are obtained through SHM, a smoothing window is usu­
ally applied to the original data to remove random noise spikes. A
depopulation process may come next in order to reduce the data volume
while maintaining the characteristics of the original data such as peaks
and valleys. Cyclic counting methods such as rainflow counting are
applied to the processed data to obtain the stress range histograms. The
random-amplitude load spectrum is converted into an equivalent
constant-amplitude load spectrum through the equation
[ ]m1
∑K
ni m
Sre = ⋅S (3)
i=1
Ntotal ri
where Sre is the equivalent effective stress range associated with the
variable-amplitude stress histogram; K is the number of stress range bin;
ni (i = 1⋯K) is the number of stress cycles falling within i th stress range
bin; Ntotal is the total number of stress cycles associated with a stress cut-
off level Scut ; Sri (i = 1⋯K) is the mean value of the i th stress range bin;
m is the fatigue material constant in Eq. (1).
During the process of obtaining equivalent stress range, a cutoff
stress level should be established so that any stress range less than the
cut-off will be ignored, regardless of the algorithm used. Different cut-off
levels have been proposed. According to [44], under variable-amplitude
cyclic loading, the cutoff threshold is about 25 % CAFL (Constant
Amplitude Fatigue Limit) for welded details that are expected to have a
finite fatigue life, as stress ranges below one quarter of CAFL make very
little contribution to the fatigue damage. For fatigue-prone details that
are expected to have an infinite fatigue life, the cutoff threshold is
defined based on the relationship between effective stress range and the
number of stress cycles associated with different cutoff levels. It has been
demonstrated that as the cut-off level decreases, the relationship be­
tween effective stress range and corresponding number of cycles ap­
proaches the S-N curve asymptotcally in log–log plot. As long as the
cutoff level is consistent with the slope of the S-N curve, considering
additional stress cycles at a lower cut-off level does not improve the
damage assessment [12].
2.2. Corrosion modeling
For carbon steel plates, corrosion will start when the coating breaks
[45].
d(t) = d0 − dcorr (t) = d0 − rcorr (t − t0 ) (4)
where t is the time of bridge in service (year); d(t) is the thickness of the
web at time t; dcorr (t) is the thickness loss due to corrosion at time t
(mm); t0 is the coating life (year); d0 is the initial thickness (mm); rcorr is
the annual corrosion rate (mm/year). It is worth mentioning that
nonlinear corrosion models such as d(t) = AtB (A, B are coefficients
associated with the power law equation) are also adopted in many
studies such as [46]. For carbon steel plates, the value of B is close to 1
[47]. In addition, linear corrosion model may reflect the long-term
corrosion loss in a more accurate manner [48]. Therefore, linear
corrosion model is adopted herein.
In addition to the corrosion rate, the spatial corrosion pattern can
influence the loss of sectional properties. Two types of spatial corrosion
pattern have been proposed for longitudinal girders [49]. The first
corrosion pattern (Pattern I) is for the scenario where corrosion extends
from the top surface of the bottom plate all the way upwards to the
intersection between the top flange and the web. In the second corrosion
pattern (Pattern II), corrosion starts from the top surface of the bottom
plate and extends to the lower quarter point of web height. The first
corrosion pattern occurs at the end of the longitudinal beam, while the
second corrosion pattern applies to mid-span part of the longitudinal
X. Han and D.M. Frangopol
Fig. 2. Spatial corrosion patterns (a) Pattern I (b) Pattern II.
beam. Illustrations of the two corrosion patterns are shown in Fig. 2.
In this paper, the influence of corrosion on fatigue will be repre­
sented by an increase of effective stress range with the corrosion lead
time (i.e., time since corrosion begins). Effective stress ranges corre­
sponding to multiple representative thickness losses are calculated
through FE analysis. Regression analysis is carried out to express the
effective stress range as a function of thickness loss.
3. Reliability analysis
Based on [3] and Miner’s rule, the performance function associated
with fatigue reliability is expressed as
m N(t) NS(t)
g(t) = Δ − e⋅Sre ⋅ = Δ − e⋅
A A
where Δ is Miner’s critical damage accumulation index; e is
Fig. 3. Elevation of the Birmingham bridge (dimensions are in mm).
Engineering Structures 272 (2022) 114967
measurement error for loading; Sre is the effective stress range calculated
according to Eq. (3); N(t) is the accumulated number of stress cycles
from 0 to t; t is time (year); NS(t) is the product of Sm
re and N(t), which
characterizes the damage index (NS) inflicted by the stress cycles during
SHM period.
If all the random variables are assumed lognormal, the time-variant
reliability index can be expressed as [50].
λΔ + λA − (λe + ln(λNS(t) ))
β(t) = √̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅ (6)
ξ2Δ + ξ2A + ξ2e + ξ2NS(t)
where λy and ξy denote the mean value and standard deviation of ln(y).
When the influence of corrosion is taken into account, cumulative NS
during SHM period will become time-variant if SHM is conducted at
different times during life-cycle. In that case, time-variant relationship
between cumulative NS value and t should be obtained. Based on [15],
the cumulative value of NS during Tg years can be calculated as
∫ Tg
( ) 365
NS Tg = × NSSHM (t)⋅(1 + α)t dt (7)
TSHM 0
where NSSHM (t) is the time-variant NS value during the SHM period
assuming that the SHM is conducted at a lead time of year t; TSHM is the
SHM duration; α is the annual increase rate of traffic volume on the
bridge.
4. Case study
4.1. Basic information on the Birmingham bridge
The investigation of the time-variant corrosion-enhanced fatigue
reliability analysis is conducted on the coped region of the transverse
diaphragm of the tied-arch Birmingham bridge in Pittsburg, PA. The
transverse diaphragm is connected with tie girders through bolted
connections; and is subjected to traffic loads transferred by stringers on
top of it. The bridge was originally built in 1976. In early 2000s, fatigue
cracks were found at almost all the transverse diaphragms at the con­
nections to the tie-girder. The thickness of the top and bottom flanges at
two end segments of transverse diaphragm (about 7436 mm from the
end) is 34.925 mm. The length of the transverse diaphragm is 32169
(5)
mm. The top and bottom flanges are thickened to 57.15 mm in the
middle segments. The thickness of the web of diaphragm is 12.7 mm. A
retrofit action was conducted to alleviate the fatigue problem of
4
X. Han and D.M. Frangopol Engineering Structures 272 (2022) 114967

Fig. 4. Illustrations of the transverse diaphragm (a) typical cross section and (b) geometry of the cutout region (dimensions are in mm) (adapted from [12]).

Fig. 5. Directions of stress components and the principal stress at the cutout corner.

transverse diaphragms. After the retrofit in 2003, the Lehigh ATLSS
Engineering Research Center was tasked with conducting SHM on the
retrofitted connection details [12]. The retrofit made was a cutout on the
diaphragm at connections to the tie-girder, thereby reducing the stiff­
ness of connections. A total of 32 strain gages were attached on the
diaphragm near the north end of the bridge (referred to as floorbeam
19). The elevation of the bridge is shown in Fig. 3. The typical section
and the zoomed-in view of the diaphragm at the connection region are
shown in Fig. 4. The fatigue behavior of the corner of cutout is inves­
tigated herein (the channel of the associated strain gage is named as Cl-
II). This fatigue-prone detail is located in the area of greatest stress at the
connections [12]. At this area, both the horizontal (denoted as σzz ) and

5
X. Han and D.M. Frangopol
Fig. 6. Schematics of loading conditions: (a) Load case I; (b) Load case II; (c) Load case III (Note: P = 66.7kN).
vertical stress (denoted as σ yy ) are on the same order of magnitude as the
maximum principal stress. The direction of maximum principal stress is
about 45◦ , which is the direction of the Cl-II strain gauge. It has been
verified through FE analysis that the value of the maximum principal
√̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅
stress can be approximated as σ 2yy + σ2zz [12]. As the radius of the
cutout has been saw cut and ground smooth, the fatigue-prone detail can
be categorized into category A in [3]. This category has the highest fa­
tigue resistance coefficient. An illustration of the directions of stress
components and maximum principal stress of the strain gauge at the
cutout corner is shown in Fig. 5.
SHM was conducted for 40 days on the Birmingham bridge. Through
data collected at CL-II and other locations, it was determined that the
response of channels of strain gages at the connections are a combina­
tion of both in-plane and out-of-plane response. In-plane response makes
a major contribution to the stress-range cycles, while out-of-plane
response either increases or decreases the total surface stress [12].
Through rainflow counting, the time history of stress cycles collected at
Cl-II was converted to the stress histogram. The stress cycles of which the
range is below 3.45 MPa (0.5ksi) are ignored as no fatigue damage is
made by those cycles [12]. Detailed information regarding the SHM
process and the SHM data is provided in [12]. Liu et al. [23] pointed out
that the stress at the location of strain gage may not be the most critical
stress near the cutout region. Therefore, FE models should be built to
find the maximum stress locations near the strain gages.
The ratio of the stress at the maximum stress location over the stress
at the strain gage location is referred to as the spatial adjustment factor
(SAF). SAF is sensitive to loading conditions, which means that it is time-
variant as the loading condition is changing constantly under moving
traffic. A rigorous approach to calculate SAF is to conduct traffic simu­
lation on the FE model, thereby obtaining time series of SAF under both
6
Engineering Structures 272 (2022) 114967
in-plane and out-of-plane loading. A more accurate SAF distribution can
be obtained based on the time-series of SAF. However, time-series SAF is
only of value when the real traffic load data that generates the measured
time-variant strain data is available. Unfortunately, this is not the case
for the Birmingham bridge. It is also worth noting that conducting traffic
simulation integrating FE models can be computationally expensive. In
this paper, SAF is obtained based on research reported in [23]. Three
loading conditions are considered to obtain SAF. Load case I (LC I)
consists in applying 2.54 mm (0.1 in.) out-of-plane displacement to the
top flange of the diaphragm at the transverse location of web stiffeners.
The amplitude of the out-of-plane displacement is based on the
maximum recorded value during the SHM period. In Load cases II and
III, a 66.7kN (15kips) wheel load is applied through the deck and lon­
gitudinal stringers to the diaphragm on the exterior (LC II) and interior
(LC III) traffic lane of the bridge.
Schematics of the three loading conditions are shown in Fig. 6. Two
boundary conditions are considered for the transverse diaphragm. The
first boundary condition (BC1) is a fixed boundary condition where both
in-plane and out-of-plane displacement are constrained. In the second
boundary condition (BC2), in-plane rotation is allowed while the out-of-
plane displacement is constrained. The real boundary condition of the
transverse diaphragm is believed to be somewhere between these two
boundary conditions. It should be noted that relaxing the in-plane
rotational degree of freedom in BC2 has no effect on the structural
response to Load case I as out-of-plane displacement at the top flange
only induces out-of-plane rotational movement at the end of transverse
diaphragm. It is also worth noting that the boundary condition may be
better characterized by building a global finite element model including
the main girders.
X. Han and D.M. Frangopol Engineering Structures 272 (2022) 114967

Table 1
SAF factors.
Boundary condition Loading condition CL-II Maximum SAF
Principal stress (absolute value) in the corner of cutout
σyy (MPa) σzz (MPa) Maximum principal stress (absolute)

I Load case I 20.59 − 27.97 21.21 30.90 1.46

Load case II 6.67 17.26 19.95 41.47 2.08
Load case III 28.75 53.35 65.40 129.57 1.98
II Load case II − 9.94 − 10.83 − 15.93 − 30.49 1.91
Load case III − 10.49 − 11.31 − 16.69 − 31.94 1.91

Fig. 8. Determination of cutoff level.

Fig. 7. PDF of original and SAF-modified stress ranges.

4.2. SAF modification Table 2

Corrosion rate data of carbon steel plate in moderate marine environment.
FE models are built for the transverse diaphragm in ABAQUS 2017 Exposure condition Corrosion rates
using C3D20R elements [51]. A global seed size of 50 mm is assigned for (μm/year)
the geometry model. The seed size of arc near the cutout is decreased to Marine 36a
2 mm to ensure fine mesh. The FE model has more than 410,000 ele­ Marine (Roof of Washington Hotel by the shore of Limon Bay) 12b
ments. A mesh sensitivity analysis has been conducted to make sure that Kure Beach (250 m lot), North Carolina 21.7c
further mesh refinement will not improve the accuracy of the FE analysis Point Reyes, California 11.9c
Barcelona 20.4d
results significantly. Full connection between diaphragm and the angles
Cadiz 12.5d
of bolted connections is assumed herein (i.e., no slip or detachment Cabo Negro 45.3d
between the angle and the diaphragm). In the ABAQUS modelling pro­ Alicante (30 m lot) 48.3d
cess, the surfaces of the web of diaphragm and the angles in contact are Alicante (100 m lot) 8.4d
tied together. The algorithm associated with tie constraint ensures that Block Island (Rhode Island) 242.7e
Kure Beach (250 m lot), North Carolina 118.0e
no relative displacement between the two contacting surfaces exists 171.0f
even if the two surfaces are meshed using different mesh densities 142.1 g
(which is the case in this FE model). As the fatigue-prone detail of in­ 81.8 h
terest is some distance away from the angles, it is not necessary to build 71.9i
Point Reyes, California 76.8j
FE models of the bolted connections in a very detailed manner. SAF
Kure Beach (200 m lot), North Carolina 20.7 k
values associated with these representative load cases are related to the
maximum principal stress (absolute value), which plays a critical role in Note: (a) Based on [54]; (b) Based on [55]; (c) Based on [56]; (d) Based on [57];
magnifying the stress range recorded by strain gauges. SAF values (e) Based on [58]; (f) Based on Reference 9 in [59]; (g) Based on Reference 11 in
[59]; (h) Based on Reference 12 in [59]; (i) Based on [60]; (j) Based on [61]; (k)
associated with three load cases and two boundary conditions are given
Based on [62];
in Table 1. In probabilistic analysis, the SAF factor is represented by a
uniform distribution, with its lower bound and upper bound equal to
those of the SAF data in Table 1. A modification process given SAF value cutoff stress level is selected as 17.23 MPa (2.5ksi), which represents
is applied to the original stress histogram. Random samples are gener­ 10.4 % of CAFL of the category A (165 MPa). When the modification is
ated based on the histogram of the original stress ranges (assuming made on the stress range histogram, the cutoff stress level should also be
uniform distribution within each bin). Then random samples of SAF are updated. After comparing the curve of cutoff stress versus effective
generated based on the triangular distribution. The multiplication of number of cycles and the slope of S-N curves of category A (as shown in
two samples yields the modified stress range samples considering SAF. Fig. 8), the new cutoff stress level associated with SAF modification is
Histograms of the original samples and the SAF-modified samples are selected as 34.45 MPa (5.0ksi), which is about 20.8 % of CAFL of cate­
shown in Fig. 7. gory A.
The effective stress Sre is calculated using Eq. (3). Based on [12], the

7
X. Han and D.M. Frangopol Engineering Structures 272 (2022) 114967

Fig. 9. Stress contours near coped region (a) no corrosion (b) 50-year corrosion under spatial pattern I and Load case II (Note: In the figure legend, “S” stands for the
stress; 75% refers to the averaging threshold for nodal stress calculation).

4.3. Influence of corrosion on the effective stress range two spatial corrosion patterns are both considered in building FE models
involving corrosion thickness loss. At lead time t, the thickness loss is
When corrosion exists, the most critical stress at the fatigue-prone calculated using Eq. (4). The thickness of corroded steel plates will be
detail can be calculated as reduced in FE models. Load cases II and III are applied on FE models of
corroded diaphragm to obtain αcorr associated with in-loading condi­
Scr (t) = Scr,ori ⋅SAF⋅αcorr (t) (8)
tions. For out-of-plane loading, as the horizontal displacement should be
larger when corrosion occurs, Load case I cannot be used to obtain αcorr .
where Scr,ori is the original stress at the location of Cl-II obtained through
Therefore, a fourth load case (i.e., LC IV) is adopted to obtain αcorr in the
SHM data; SAF is the spatial adjustment factor; and αcorr (t) is the time-
case of out-of-plane loading (the out-of-plane movement at the bound­
variant corrosion-enhanced factor. For the fatigue detail investigated
ary is restrained in this case), in which the top flange at the cross section
herein, αcorr (t) can be represented by the ratio of the maximum principal
of web stiffener is subjected to a transverse force of 0.1kN.
stress (absolute value is used if the cutout region is in compression under
von Mises stress contours with an averaging threshold of 75 % for
external loads) at Cl-II in the FE model associated with corrosion lead
nodal stress under LC II and BC II are shown in Fig. 9 for the coped region
time t to the combined stress at Cl-II in the original FE model with no
of (a) the original FE model and (b) the FE model associated with 50
corrosion.
years of corrosion (Pattern I). It can be seen that due to corrosion
Corrosion rate of carbon steel plate is highly dependent upon the
thickness loss (the web thickness is reduced to 9.45 mm from 12.7 mm),
ambient atmosphere. In this paper, corrosion rates of carbon steel plates
stress value at the corner of cutout increases with the lead time of
in moderate marine environment are considered. Detailed information
corrosion, which indicates an acceleration of fatigue damage rate at the
on corrosion rate data is shown in Table 2. The mean corrosion rate of
fatigue-prone detail.
the data in Table 2 (0.067 mm/year) is used herein.
The stresses at Cl-II associated with corrosion lead time of 10, 20, 30,
Given the fact that the bridge has been in service for almost 30 years
40, and 50 years are calculated. The information on αcorr at those years
when the SHM was conducted, the remaining coating life of the dia­
associated with different load cases and spatial corrosion patterns is
phragm is not considered (i.e., t0 = 0 in Eq. (4)). The aforementioned

8
X. Han and D.M. Frangopol Engineering Structures 272 (2022) 114967

Table 3
Corrosion-enhanced factor.
Lead Spatial Boundary Loading Moderate marine
time corrosion condition condition
Maximum αcorr
(year) pattern (BC) (LC)
principal stress
(absolute value)
at Cl-II (MPa)

0 – BC I LC II 19.95 –
LC III 65.40 –
LC IV 12.03 –
BC II LC II − 15.93 –
LC III − 16.69 –
10 Pattern I BC I LC II 20.75 1.04
LC III 68.46 1.05
LC IV 13.70 1.14
BC II LC II − 17.02 1.07
LC III − 17.81 1.07
Patter II BC I LC II 20.33 1.02
LC III 66.54 1.02
LC IV 12.52 1.04
BC II LC II − 16.16 1.01
LC III − 16.89 1.01 Fig. 10. Time-variant profiles of corrosion-enhanced factor.
20 Pattern I BC I LC II 21.41 1.07
LC III 71.07 1.09
LC IV 15.31 1.27 SAF-modified stress range samples. As αcorr value associated with out-of-
BC II LC II − 17.02 1.07 plane loading (LC IV) is much larger than that associated with in-plane
LC III − 17.81 1.07 loading (LC II and LC III), the influence of corrosion on the damage index
Patter II BC I LC II 20.46 1.03
LC III 66.86 1.02
(NS) in these two loading scenarios are investigated separately. In the
LC IV 12.62 1.05 case of in-plane loading, the mean value of four αcorr values associated
BC II LC II − 16.25 1.02 with in-plane loading cases is adopted as the multiplication factor.
LC III − 16.94 1.02 Following the same methodology as that associated with Fig. 8, the
30 Pattern I BC I LC II 22.10 1.11
effective stress range (Seff ), daily number of cycles (Ndaily ), as well as the
LC III 73.88 1.13
LC IV 17.19 1.43 daily damage index (NSdaily ) associated with different cutoff levels
BC II LC II − 19.33 1.21 (assuming m = 3 in Eq. (1) [23]) are determined as shown in Table 4. It
LC III − 20.20 1.21 can be seen that under the same lead time and loading condition,
Patter II BC I LC II 20.61 1.03
corrosion Pattern I results in a larger effective stress Sre than corrosion
LC III 67.21 1.03
LC IV 12.72 1.06 Pattern II. For corrosion Pattern II, the time-variation of NSdaily is rela­
BC II LC II − 16.35 1.03 tively small as the associated corrosion-enhanced factor αcorr is very
LC III − 16.99 1.02 close to 1. It should be noted that traffic simulation can render a more
40 Pattern I BC I LC II 22.82 1.14
accurate distribution of αcorr . However, due to the unavailability of real
LC III 76.91 1.18
LC IV 19.40 1.61 traffic load data, the traffic simulation approach is not followed in this
BC II LC II − 20.71 1.30 case study.
LC III − 21.64 1.30 Uncertainty in NS plays an important role in calculating reliability
Patter II BC I LC II 20.76 1.04 index. For the curves showing the relationship between Seff and N, such
LC III 67.58 1.03
LC IV 12.83 1.07 as the two curves with markers in Fig. 8, when the cutoff stress range
BC II LC II − 16.45 1.03 threshold is lower than a certain value, the curves are approaching the S-
LC III − 17.04 1.02 N curve asymptotcally in log–log plot. The NS values associated with
50 Pattern I BC I LC II 23.57 1.18 these cutoff levels are used to determine the mean and COV of the NS. It
LC III 80.16 1.23
has been observed from the NS data in this study that the COV of NS is
LC IV 22.04 1.83
BC II LC II − 22.29 1.40 close to 0.25, regardless of the level of corrosion. Therefore, a COV of
LC III − 23.27 1.39 0.25 is chosen for NS.
Patter II BC I LC II 20.93 1.05 The relationship between mean damage index NS and t is quantified
LC III 67.99 1.04
through regression analysis. First, as both the effective stress range and
LC IV 12.95 1.08
BC II LC II − 16.56 1.04 number of effective stress cycles are obtained through the stress range
LC III − 17.097 1.02 histogram, the number of effective stress cycles during SHM can thereby
be obtained. NS can be considered as a function of corrosion thickness
loss dcorr , which is a function of t. Polynomial fitting analysis is con­
shown in Table 3. Time-variant profiles of αcorr are plotted in Fig. 10. As ducted to determine the relationship between these two variables. The
indicated under corrosion Pattern I, corrosion leads to a significant in­ relationship between NSdaily (daily NS value) and dcorr is fitted separately
crease of stress under the same loading condition. In the case of corro­ for each combination of the spatial corrosion pattern and loading sce­
sion Pattern II, the increase of stress under the same loading condition in nario (regarding whether it is in-plane or out-of-plane) as the ranges of
the presence of corrosion is not substantial. It can also be seen that the NSSHM in the four cases are different. The fitting results are shown in
influence of corrosion in the case of out-of-plane loading is more sig­ Fig. 11. Second-order polynomial fitting is adopted for the cases asso­
nificant than that associated with in-plane loading, as the corrosion- ciated with corrosion Pattern I while third-order polynomial regression
enhanced factor associated with the former is significantly larger than is conducted for the cases associated with corrosion Pattern II to ensure
that associated with the latter. Under the in-plane loading, corrosion the quality of fitting (i.e., achieving a low value of the root means square
exerts a larger influence under the fixed boundary condition (BC-I) error (RMSE)). For corrosion Pattern I, the regression model of NSdaily is
compared with the pinned boundary (BC-II).
expressed as
The obtained corrosion-enhanced factors are used to multiply the

9
X. Han and D.M. Frangopol Engineering Structures 272 (2022) 114967

Table 4
Effective stress and damage inflicted by stress cycles (SAF considered for corrosion cases).
Lead time Spatial corrosion Loading Cutoff stress Effective stress range Daily effective number of Damage inflicted by cyclic load per
(year) pattern condition (MPa) (MPa) cycles day (MPa3)

0 (SAF only) – – 34.45 49.13 137 1.62 × 107

10 Pattern I In-plane 31.01 47.14 208 2.18 × 107
Out-of-plane 37.90 54.89 149 2.47 × 107
Pattern II In-plane 34.45 49.50 142 1.73 × 107
Out-of-plane 34.45 50.00 152 1.89 × 107
20 Pattern I In-plane 34.45 50.64 165 2.14 × 107
Out-of-plane 41.34 60.42 159 3.52 × 107
Pattern II In-plane 34.45 49.60 144 1.76 × 107
Out-of-plane 34.45 50.18 155 1.96 × 107
30 Pattern I In-plane 41.34 58.21 127 2.50 × 107
Out-of-plane 48.23 69.40 144 4.81 × 107
Pattern II In-plane 34.45 49.71 146 1.80 × 107
Out-of-plane 34.45 50.32 158 2.02 × 107
40 Pattern I In-plane 41.34 59.58 145 3.07 × 107
Out-of-plane 48.23 72.71 199 7.66 × 107
Pattern II In-plane 34.45 49.84 148 1.84 × 107
Out-of-plane 34.45 50.47 162 2.08 × 107
50 Pattern I In-plane 41.34 60.94 169 3.82 × 107
Out-of-plane 55.12 82.88 196 1.12 × 108
Pattern II In-plane 34.45 49.96 151 1.88 × 107
Out-of-plane 34.45 50.70 166 2.16 × 107

( )
2
NSdaily = 11.24dcorr − 1.99dcorr + 27.47 × 106
in the case of in-plane loading and
( )
2
NSdaily = 1.82dcorr + 3.00dcorr + 25.89 × 106
in the case of out-of-plane loading.
For corrosion Pattern II, the regression model of NSdaily is expressed
as
( 3
NSdaily = 4.74dcorr 2
− 29.0dcorr
)
+ 65.3dcorr + 250 × 105 (9c)
in the case of in-plane loading and
( )
3
NSdaily = 1.49dcorr 2
− 89.96dcorr + 23.66dcorr + 249.3 × 105
in the case of out-of-plane loading. In Eq. 9, the NSdaily is in MPa3 and
dcorr is in mm.
4.4. Reliability analysis results
Reliability analysis is conducted based on Eqs. (6), 7, and 9. A total of
5 cases are considered in this paper. In the first three cases, NS value
associated with SAF-modified stress histogram is used to characterize
the time-variant fatigue damage. In Case I, the fatigue resistance of fa­
tigue category A in [3] is used to represent the corrosion resistance. The
adverse impact of corrosion on fatigue may be regarded as downgrading
the fatigue category of the detail. In this sense, fatigue resistance coef­
ficient of fatigue categories B and C in [3] is adopted in Cases II and III,
respectively. In Cases IV and V, time-variant NS value due to corrosion is
used to conduct reliability analysis. αcorr associated with in-plane
loading is adopted in Case IV while αcorr associated with out-of-plane
loading is adopted in Case V. Fatigue resistance of category A is adop­
ted in Cases IV and V.
The daily NS value calculated using Eq. (7) multiplied by 365 is
considered as the mean NS at year t. Lognormal distribution is assumed
for all the other random variables in Eq. (6) [6,15,52,53]. Mean and
COV of the critical damage accumulation index (Δ) are 1 and 0.3,
respectively [52]. The mean and COV of the error factor (e) are set as 1
and 0.03, respectively [53]. The mean values of the fatigue resistance
(9a) coefficient (A) are 82.0 × 1012, 39.3 × 1012, and 14.4 × 1012MPa3 for
categories A, B, and C, respectively [6]. The COV of A is 0.45 [6]. Two
different annual traffic increase rates, 0 % and 5 %, are considered [15].
Time-variant fatigue reliability profiles associated with the corrosion
(9b) Patterns I and II assuming an annual corrosion rate of 0.067 mm are
shown in Figs. 12 and 13. It can be seen that if corrosion Pattern I occurs,
reliability profiles associated with corrosion (i.e., Cases IV and V) are
much lower than those associated with non-corrosion (i.e., Cases I). The
decrease of reliability profile is more severe when the increase of
effective stress range is associated with out-of-plane loading actions.
From Fig. 12(a), it can be seen that the fatigue reliability profile asso­
ciated with Case V is somewhere between those associated with Cases II
and III when corrosion lead time is larger than 35 years. This indicates
(9d) that the fatigue-prone detail should be downgraded to Category C when
Case V and corrosion Pattern I occur. If only in-plane loading is
considered in conjunction with corrosion Pattern I (i.e., Case IV), the
reliability index at year 50 is higher to that associated with the fatigue
resistance coefficient of category B (i.e., Case II). Therefore, under these
conditions, the fatigue-prone detail should be downgraded from cate­
gory A to B. From Fig. 12(b), it can be seen that when corrosion Pattern II
occurs, the associated reliability profiles (Cases IV and V) are only
slightly lower than that of Case I, indicating that corrosion Pattern II has
only a minor effect in a typical moderate marine environment. Com­
parison between Fig. 12 and Fig. 13 indicates that the annual rate of
traffic volume increase exerts a significant impact on the fatigue reli­
ability. Due to the high fatigue resistance of fatigue Category A, the
fatigue detail is safe even when the most critical corrosion pattern and
load condition occurs. However, in severe marine environment where
the corrosion rate can be several times larger than that in moderate
marine environment, maintenance may need to be performed due to a
lower fatigue index profile. Maintenance may also need to be carried out
if a high annual increase rate of traffic volume occurs (e.g., 10 %).
5. Conclusions and future work
5.1. Conclusions
This paper investigates the influence of corrosion on the fatigue-
prone details of steel bridges utilizing SHM information, with

10
X. Han and D.M. Frangopol
Fig. 11. Relation between damage index and effective stress range.
emphasis on fatigue details at the coped region of the diaphragm-to-
girder connection of steel bridges. Both the spatial adjustment and
corrosion-enhanced factors are calculated using FE models. The
approach adopted in this paper can be used to investigate fatigue-prone
details under complex stress states when the influence of corrosion
needs to be accounted for. The following conclusions are drawn:
1. For the spatial adjustment factor (SAF), the range calculated using
representative load cases is not large. Therefore, using the SAF range
associated with representative load cases will not generate a signif­
icant error compared with fitting an SAF distribution considering the
entire load history consisting of large amount of real traffic data.
2. When thickness loss occurs due to corrosion, for a transverse dia­
phragm subjected to both in-plane and out-of-plane loading, out-of-
plane loading exerts a more severe impact on fatigue reliability than
in-plane loading. For the same loading condition, corrosion Pattern I
is much more critical than corrosion pattern II. It is beneficial to
determine relative weights of out-of-plane loading and in-plane
11
Engineering Structures 272 (2022) 114967
loading, as well as the real spatial corrosion pattern. Annual in­
crease of traffic volume may also make a big difference in fatigue
reliability index for steel structures.
3. The influence of the connection rigidity on the SAF is small. When
corrosion Pattern II occurs, the influence of connection rigidity on
the corrosion-enhanced factor is insignificant. When corrosion
Pattern I occurs, a lower rigidity tends to increase the corrosion-
enhanced factor when the thickness loss is significant.
5.2. Future work
It should be noted that distortion-induced fatigue cracking at the
connection between the transverse diaphragm and main girder is an
extensive research field. The stress range at the fatigue-prone details
near the connection between the transverse diaphragm and main girder
is influenced by the geometry of the cutout, such as the height, width as
well as the fillet radius. The influence of these geometrical parameters
on the fatigue life of details in the connection region of transverse
X. Han and D.M. Frangopol Engineering Structures 272 (2022) 114967

Fig. 12. Fatigue reliability profiles associated with 0% annual traffic vol­
Fig. 13. Fatigue reliability profiles associated with 5% annual traffic vol­
ume increase.
ume increase.

diaphragms merits further investigation. In addition, to fully capture the

6. Data Availability Statement
influence of SAF and corrosion effects on the stress range obtained
through SHM, it is encouraged to install weight-in-motion (WIM) sys­
All the data, models, and codes that support the findings of this study
tems to measure the real traffic load that generates the time-series of
are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
strain data. It is also worth pointing out that the corrosion model
adopted herein is a theoretical one. A more detailed characterization of
CRediT authorship contribution statement
the corrosion thickness loss at the diaphragm can be performed if SHM
data on the thickness loss are available. Finally, a steel bridge, or even a
Xu Han: Conceptualization, Methodology, Software, Validation,
steel member in a bridge is associated with multiple fatigue-prone de­
Data curation, Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing,
tails. The proposed approach can be further enhanced by including the
Visualization. Dan M. Frangopol: Writing – review & editing, Super­
ability of analyzing steel bridges with multiple fatigue-prone details
vision, Project administration, Funding acquisition.
under corrosive environments using a time-variant system reliability-
based approach. For the system reliability analysis associated with
Declaration of Competing Interest
multiple fatigue-prone details, correlations of load effects and the re­
sistances among different fatigue-prone details are crucial. SHM activ­
The authors declare that they have no known competing financial
ities can help shed light on these correlations. Also, the proposed
interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence
approach can be extended to include the effects of other hazards such as
the work reported in this paper.
earthquakes [63,64] on the life-cycle safety of corroded bridges with
fatigue-prone details.

12
X. Han and D.M. Frangopol
Data availability
Data will be made available on request.
Acknowledgments
The authors are grateful for the financial support received from the
US National Science Foundation Grant CMMI 1537926. The authors
would like to thank Dr. David Y. Yang, Portland State University, for his
help in the conceptualization of research ideas in this study. The authors
would also like to thank Ian C. Hodgson, Lehigh University, for
providing information of the geometry of the Birmingham bridge. The
opinions and conclusions presented this paper are those of the authors
and do not necessarily reflect the views of the sponsoring organization.
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