Cracking is the most important distress of the steel bridge deck pavement. The distribution of the crack was found to be different in different types of bridges. To assess the bridge structure effect in the crack analysis of the steel deck pavement, a multi-scale structure analysis was proposed and performed on basis of a case study. Firstly, the whole bridge model was analyzed to find the critical segment under critical load combination, the results showed that the critical segment is at the 1/4 span of the bridge. Secondly, the critical segment model was established using the finite mixed element method, and the critical local plate can be determined. Thirdly, using the sub-model technique, the orthotropic steel plate with pavement was modeled and analyzed. The cracking distribution law of the steel deck pavement can be induced by the tensile stress distribution law on the top of the pavement. The results of multi-scale structure analysis were then compared to the traditional steel plate model to evaluate the bridge structure effect. At last, some conclusions and suggestions are given for the pavement preservation.
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