Enhancement of Welded Steel Bridge Girders Susceptible to Distortion-Induced Fatigue
Distortion-induced fatigue cracks constitute a serious national problem given the large number of steel girder bridges constructed before 1985 that are affected by this type of failure. It is estimated that 90% of all fatigue-related cracks in bridges have arisen due to out-of-plane distortion (Connor and Fisher 2006). Finding, repairing, and potentially preventing fatigue cracks at details susceptible to out-of-plane distortion represents a significant expense to State departments of transportation (DOTs). This problem is exacerbated by the fact that many of the affected bridge structures carry large traffic loads, or their geographical location is such that temporary closure would cause significant disruption to the economic activity of the local residents. While a number of repair and retrofit methods have been shown to be effective in addressing this problem (Roddis and Zhao 2001; Roddis and Zhao 2003; Stallings et al. 1999; Connor and Fisher 2006), these strategies can be time-consuming, expensive to implement, and often require temporary bridge closures. There are also instances in which these methods cannot be implemented due to lack of space in the affected region of the bridge. In those cases, the use of new and/or combined techniques may present a viable method for fatigue life extension. The main objective of the proposed research is to explore the use of composite materials and hole treatments (ultrasonic impact treatment and bolt interference) to develop new retrofitting techniques aimed at extending the fatigue life of bridges with connection details susceptible to distortion-induced fatigue. The techniques that will be studied were selected because they are relatively inexpensive, easy to implement, and can be carried out without significant disruptions to traffic.
- Record URL:
Language
- English
Project
- Status: Completed
- Funding: $1060000.00
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Contract Numbers:
TPF-5(189)
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Sponsor Organizations:
New Jersey Department of Transportation
1035 Parkway Avenue
Trenton, NJ United States 08625New York State Department of Transportation
50 Wolf Road
Albany, NY United States 12232Tennessee Department of Transportation
James K. Polk Building
Fifth and Deaderick Street
Nashville, TN United States 37243-0349Wyoming Department of Transportation
5300 Bishop Boulevard
Cheyenne, WY United States 82009-3340Wisconsin Department of Transportation
4802 Sheboygan Avenue
Madison, WI United States 53707Washington State Department of Transportation
Transportation Building
Olympia, WA United States 98504Pennsylvania Department of Transportation
Keystone Building
400 North Street
Harrisburg, PA United States 17120Oregon Department of Transportation
555 13th Street NE
Salem, OR United States 97301Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development
P.O. Box 94245
1201 Capitol Access Road
Baton Rouge, LA United States 70804-9245Kansas Department of Transportation
Eisenhower State Office Building
700 SW Harrison Street
Topeka, KS United States 66603-3754Iowa Department of Transportation
800 Lincoln Way
Ames, IA United States 50010Illinois Department of Transportation
2300 S. Dirksen Parkway
Springfield, IL United States 62764California Department of Transportation
1120 N Street
Sacramento, CA United States 95814Federal Highway Administration
1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
Washington, DC United States 20590 -
Project Managers:
Montney, Rodney
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Performing Organizations:
University of Kansas, Lawrence
2600 Learned Hall
Lawrence, KS United States 66045 -
Principal Investigators:
Bennett, Caroline
- Start Date: 20080901
- Expected Completion Date: 0
- Actual Completion Date: 20130831
- Source Data: RiP Project 29765
Subject/Index Terms
- TRT Terms: Composite materials; Distortion (Structures); Fatigue cracking; Retrofitting; Steel bridges; Traffic loads
- Subject Areas: Bridges and other structures; Highways; Maintenance and Preservation;
Filing Info
- Accession Number: 01560761
- Record Type: Research project
- Source Agency: Federal Highway Administration
- Contract Numbers: TPF-5(189)
- Files: RiP, USDOT, STATEDOT
- Created Date: Apr 22 2015 1:03AM