Fatigue of Curved Steel Bridge Elements: Fatigue Tests of Curved Plate Girder Assemblies

摘要

Research on the fatigue behavior of horizontally curved, steel bridge elements was conducted. The investigation is centered on the effect of welded details on curved girder fatigue strength. Fatigue tests of five full-scale curved plate girder assemblies are a part of the investigation. The fatigue behavior of five types of welded details from AASHTO Categories C and E is monitored while undergoing two million constant amplitude load cycles on the assemblies. Primary fatigue cracking due to in-plane bending and torsion was observed as well as secondary fatigue cracking due to out-of-plane bending of the web. The web performance under fatigue loading was also observed.