Numerical analysis of the effect of cope hole on the fatigue strength of corrugated web girders

摘要

A common means of facilitating cross welding on the girder flange is to use cope hole on the girder web. This paper presents a study on the fatigue strength of the corrugated web girders with the cope hole using numerical analysis. Typical stress concentration behaviours are discussed relative to reported experimental results, and parameter variations are then used to study the stress gradient on the corrugated web as the influence of the cope hole. Based on the simplified cumulative fatigue summation implemented in fatigue post-processor, fatigue life predictions are presented with codified curves of AASHTO LRFD.