Value of Charpy impact test results with sub-and half-size specimens extracted from overage steel bridge members

For the maintenance of steel bridges,the mechanical properties of steel used in the bridges must be elucidated.When enough dimensions of specimens cannot be extracted from the actual members,miniaturized specimens are used for evaluation.In the case of the Charpy impact test,sub-and half-size specimens are specified instead of full-size specimens of which the thickness is 10 mm.The value of absorbed energy and energy transient temperature obtained by Charpy impact tests with sub-size and half-size specimens were investigated from the viewpoint of maintenance of bridges in this study.The absorbed energy was not in proportion to the thickness of specimens of steel used in the actual overage bridges.The tendency of energy transient temperature obtained by thin specimens of the overage steel differed from that of the present steel.A method for evaluating the performance against brittle fracture occurrence based on the WES3003 criterion was examined.The results show the significance of evaluation based on the energy transient temperature for reasonable maintenance of bridges.

Research on heavy-haul adaptive technology and strengthening measures for existing railway steel bridge

Purpose–This research addresses the diverse characteristics of existing railway steel bridges in China,including variations in construction age,design standards,structural types,manufacturing processes,materials and service conditions.It also focuses on prominent defects and challenges related to heavy transportation conditions,particularly low live haul reserves and severe fatigue problems.Design/methodology/approach–The study encompasses three key aspects:(1)Adaptability assessment:It begins with assessing the suitability of existing railway steel bridges for heavy-haul operations through comprehensive analyses,experiments and engineering applications.(2)Strengthening:To combat frequent crack defects in the vertical stiffener end structure of girder webs,fatigue performance tests and reinforcement scheme experiments were conducted.These experiments included the development of a hot-spot stress S-N curve for this structure,validating the effectiveness of methods like crack stop holes,ultrasonic hammering and flange angle steel.(3)Service life extension:Research on the cruciform welded joint structure(non-fusion transfer type)focused on fatigue performance over the long life cycle.This led to the establishment of a fatigue S-N curve,enhancing Chinese design codes.Findings–The research achieved several significant outcomes:(1)Successful implementation of strengthening and retrofitting measures on a 64-m single-span double-track railway steel truss girder on an existing heavy-duty line.(2)Post-reinforcement,a substantial 26%to 32%reduction in live haul stress on bridge members was achieved.(3)The strengthening and retrofitting efforts met design expectations,enabling the bridge to accommodate vehicles with a 30-ton axle haul on the railway line.Originality/value–This research systematically tackles challenges and defects associated with Chinese existing railway steel bridges,providing valuable insights into adaptability assessment,strengthening techniques and service life extension methods.Furthermore,the development of fatigue S-N curves and the successful implementation of bridge enhancements have practical implications for improving the resilience and operational capacity of railway steel bridges in China.

A systematic review of steel bridge deck pavement in China

As an important part of steel bridge deck,the engineering quality and service condition of steel bridge deck pavement(SBDP)directly affects the capacity and operational efficiency of the bridge.This paper reviews the history of the development of SBDP in China over the past 20 years from the exploration stage,rapid development stage and prosperity stage.The development and application of SBDP at different stages are discussed in terms of materials,structure,design,performance evaluation,maintenance and rehabilitation,respectively.The advantages and disadvantages of different pavement materials and structures,and the application of different research methods are summarized.The review shows that the improvement of pavement materials and structures and the development of new materials should be further studied on the multi-scale to enhance the durability of pavement materials,so as to extend the service life of pavements.The design method of SBDP related to the synergistic effect of vehicle,pavement and bridge should be established,and the design concept and method standard of rigid base pavement structure should be improved and formulate a complete design standard.In addition,multi-disease intelligent identification system and equipment should be studied to track the entire course of disease development in real time.And it is necessary to develop appropriate algorithms to select and classify the complex data of disease and maintenance history.

Design and laboratory evaluation of fog-sealed chip seal on epoxy asphalt pavement for steel bridge deck

In order to improve the surface performace of epoxy asphalt pavement （EAP） for steel bridge deck, an epoxy asphalt chip seal （ ECS） covered by a cationic emulsified asphalt fog seal （i. e., fog-sealed chip seal） isproposed and a laboratory study is conducted to design and evaluate te fog-sealed chip seal. First, the evaluation indices and methods of te chip seal on steel bridge deck pavement were proposed. Secondly, the worst pavement conditions during te maintenance time were simulated by te small traffic load simulation system MMLS3 and the short-term aging test for minimizing the failure probability of chip seal. Finally, the design parameters of fog-sealed chip seal were determined by the experimental analysis and the performance of the designed fog-sealed chip seal was evaluated in thelaboratory. Results indicate that the proposed simulation method of pavement conditions is effective and the maximal load repetitions on the EAPslab specimen are approximately 925 300 times. Moreover, the designed fog-sealedchip sealcan provide a dense surface with sufficient skid resistance,aggregate-asphalt aahesive performance and interlayer shearing resistance.

Fatigue damage analysis of epoxy asphalt pavement for steel bridges considering coupled effects of heavy load and temperature variations

To investigate the fatigue damage of epoxy asphalt pavement(EAP)under a heavy load and a d temperature load,the load-figure of the heavy load on the steel bridge deck pavement(SBDP)was simulated first,and the temperature distribution of SBDP during the temperature-fall period in winter was also calculated.Secondly,t e moving heavy load coupled W t the most unfavorable temperatre load was applied to the SBDP,and the tensile stress on the top of SBDP was calculated.Finally,the fatigue damage of EAP was evaluated considering the extreme situation of heavily overloaded and severe environments.The results show that botte heavy load and the temperature load during t e temperature-fall period c n increase the tensile stress on the top of SBDP significantly.In the exteme situation of heavily overloaded and severe environments,a fatigue crack is easily generated,and thus the SBDP should avoid t e coupling effects of the heavy loadand the temperature load in winter.

Finite element model updating of existing steel bridge based on structural health monitoring

Based on the physical meaning of sensitivity,a new finite element(FE) model updating method was proposed. In this method,a three-dimensional FE model of the Nanjing Yangtze River Bridge(NYRB) with ANSYS program was established and updated by modifying some design parameters. To further validate the updated FE model,the analytical stress-time histories responses of main members induced by a moving train were compared with the measured ones. The results show that the relative error of maximum stress is 2.49% and the minimum relative coefficient of analytical stress-time histories responses is 0.793. The updated model has a good agreement between the calculated data and the tested data,and provides a current baseline FE model for long-term health monitoring and condition assessment of the NYRB. At the same time,the model is validated by stress-time histories responses to be feasible and practical for railway steel bridge model updating.

Effect of crack-closure treatment on fatigue durability of cracked rib-to-deck welded joints in steel bridge decks

To evaluate the effect of treating long cracks with the impact crack-closure retrofit(ICR)technique,three rib-to-deck welded specimens with a crack length of about 100 mm were tested.The metallographic structure,crack section,crack propagation life,and stress variation were analyzed.Finite-element models were also developed,and some optimal values of certain parameters are suggested according to the simulated results.The results show that new crack sources are generated on both sides of the ICR-treated region because of the stress distribution.The fatigue lives of cracked specimens with long cracks are significantly improved by the technique.Considerable residual compressive stress is also induced,and so it is suggested that the optimal impact angle to be applied to real bridges should be 70°.The stress at the weld root is distributed uniformly with the crack closed,and the optimal crack-closure depth is 4 mm.To evaluate the effect of different crack-closure depths in tests,it is recommended that a hot-spot stress method which is extrapolated by three reference points should be adopted.

Fatigue Crack Propagation Analysis of Orthotropic Steel Bridge with Crack Tip Elastoplastic Consideration

Due to the complex structure and dense weld of the orthotropic steel bridge deck(OSBD),fatigue cracks are prone to occur in the typical welding details.Welding residual stress(WRS)will cause a plastic zone at the crack tip.In this paper,an elastoplastic constitutive model based on the Chaboche kinematic hardening model was introduced,and the extended finite element method(XFEM)was used to study the influence of material elastoplasticity and crack tip plastic zone on the law of fatigue crack propagation.By judging the stress state of the residual stress field at the crack tip and selecting different crack propagation rate models to investigate the crack propagation law when plastic deformation was considered,the propagation path and propagation rate of fatigue crack of the OSBD were obtained.The results show that,whether the residual stress field is considered or not,the plastic deformation at the crack tip will not cause the obvious closure of the fatigue crack at the U-rib toe during the crack propagation process,but will significantly affect the crack propagation path.When material plasticity is considered,the propagation angle of fatigue crack at the U-rib toe basically remains unchanged along the short-axis direction of the initial crack,but is going up along the long-axis direction,and the crack tip plastic zone inhibits the propagation of the crack tip on one side.Compared with linear elastic materials,the crack propagation law considering material plasticity is more consistent with that in actual bridge engineering.In terms of the propagation rate,if the residual stress field is not considered,the fatigue crack propagation rate at U-rib toe with plasticity considered is slightly higher than that without plasticity considered,because plastic deformation will affect the amplitude of energy release rate.When considering the WRS field,the fatigue crack propagation rate at U-rib toe is increased due to the combined actions of plastic deformation and stress ratio R.

Design methods of headed studs for composite decks of through steel bridges in high-speed railway

Aimed at two typical composite floor systems of through steel bridges in high speed railway,design methods of headed studs were put forward for different composite members through comparing and analyzing the structure,mechanical characteristics and transmission routes of deck loads.The simplified calculation models were brought out for the stud design of the longitudinal girders and transverse girders in the composite floor system of Nanjing Dashengguan Yangtze River Bridge (NDB).Studs were designed and arranged by taking the middle panel of 336 m main span for example.The results show that under deck loads,the longitudinal girders in the composite floor system of through steel bridges are in tension-bending state,longitudinal shear force on the interface is caused by both longitudinal force of "The first mechanical system" and vertical bending of "The second mechanical system",and studs can be arranged with equal space in terms of the shear force in range of 0.2d (where d is the panel length) on the top ends.Transverse girders in steel longitudinal and transverse girders-concrete slab composite deck are in compound-bending state,and out-of-plane bending has to be taken into account in the stud design.In orthotropic integral steel deck-concrete slab composite deck,out-of-plane bending of transverse girders is very small so that it can be neglected,and studs on the orthotropic integral steel deck can be arranged according to the structural requirements.The above design methods and simplified calculation models have been applied in the stud design of NDB.

Nordic Steel Bridges--Trends and Development

The development of steel bridges has been very strong for many years implementing composite structures, higher steel grades and hybrid girders, thus improving cost efficiency in bridge superstructures. As construction moves more towards inner city, there is need for even more improvement. As global resources as scarce, and society in general expect more value for same money. With Constructional Excellence--a well defined process from steel mill to installed bridge which includes design management, new foundation solutions, the best practice of current steel bridges and intelligent installation put together in robust system solutions. This paper will show resource efficiency in three dimensions, money, time and less traffic disturbance.

Construction Management and Installation Quality Control Strategy of Steel Bridges

At present,China’s bridges are mostly made of concrete,which contain a large amount of cement,sand and gravel and other materials,which can easily cause environmental pollution.At the same time,China’s total steel production continues to rank first in the world.The construction and development of steel bridges have sufficient basic support.At the same time,steel is more environmental-friendly than concrete,with higher strength,lower weight,and can reduce construction waste significantly,so the development of steel bridges has been on the rise.To optimize the application effect of steel structure bridges,it is necessary to analyze the construction management and installation quality control strategies of steel bridges for reference.

Comparative Study on Test Performance of Two Kinds of High Modulus Asphalt Concrete for the Steel Bridge Deck

Along with the popularization and application of the steel bridge in China,due to the high modulus of asphalt concrete with good waterproof,anti-fatigue,anti-aging and good performance,asphalt concrete with high modulus was widely used in steel bridge deck pavement,the test and comparative study of high modulus asphalt concrete were carried out based on two types of common high modulus asphalt concrete which include the casting type asphalt concrete and epoxy resin modified asphalt concrete,aims to further explore the performance features of the steel bridge deck with high modulus asphalt concrete,and provide help on the application of this asphalt concrete on the steel bridge deck.

Monitoring and detection of steel bridge diseases:A review

Fatigue,corrosion,and bolt loosening are the main causes of structural performance degradation and collapse in steel bridges.Accurate monitoring of steel bridge diseases is a basic premise for ensuring high-quality operation and maintenance of steel bridges.In this regard,a summary and analysis were conducted on the classification of steel bridge diseases,monitoring and detection methods,application statuses,and major difficulties.The main causes,research status,and development trends of steel bridge diseases are discussed.The results showed that,for fatigue crack problems,fatigue crack initiation has a small scale,high difficulty in monitoring and detection,few methods,and low accuracy.As the cracks grow,the difficulty of monitoring and detection decreases,the number of methods increases,and the accuracy improves.Fatigue crack monitoring and detection are affected by the environmental and vehicular loads.Superficial corrosion features are evident in steel bridges,and corrosion identification methods and technologies are rapidly developing.Monitoring and detecting corrosion in concealed areas is difficult and requires further improvements in monitoring and detection technologies and their accuracy.Monitoring and detection methods and supporting equipment for bolt loosening in steel bridges are rapidly developing.The development of intelligent monitoring and detection technologies and supporting equipment is an important research topic that urgently needs to be addressed for the full-lifecycle operation and maintenance of steel bridges and the sustainable development of bridge engineering.Developing new intelligent sensing components based on high-performance materials and sensing element design theory to improve the monitoring and detection perception ability is an important development direction for steel bridge monitoring and detection.Research on intelligent monitoring and detection technologies,standardized indicators,and related topics based on intelligent operations and maintenance provide great support for the development of steel-bridge disease monitoring and detection.

Weldability of steel used in an aged bridge

A series of experiments was performed to investigate the weldability of steel used in an aged bridge.A steel material used in an aged railway bridge constructed in 1912 was extracted for this investigation.The chemical compositions of this steel were suitable for welding.However,the aged steel contained much sulfur.Cruciform welded joints were fabricated with this aged steel.Welding defects or cracks were not observed in the joints.The Vickers hardness test on the welded part did not confirm extreme hardening or softening.After yielding by the static tensile test,the cruciform joints were fractured at the welded parts.One of the specimens was fractured in the middle of the thickness of the aged steel.The Sulfur contained in the aged steel might cause this type of fracture.The results show that there may be a risk of brittle fracture not only from the welded part but also from the base metal.The chemical compositions of aged steel must be analyzed when repair welding is applied to the steel.

Dynamic Response Impact of Vehicle Braking on Simply Supported Beam Bridges with Corrugated Steel Webs Based on Vehicle-Bridge Coupled Vibration Analysis

A novel approach for analyzing coupled vibrations between vehicles and bridges is presented,taking into account spatiotemporal effects and mechanical phenomena resulting fromvehicle braking.Efficient modeling and solution of bridge vibrations induced by vehicle deceleration are realized using this method.The method’s validity and reliability are substantiated through numerical examples.A simply supported beam bridge with a corrugated steel web is taken as an example and the effects of parameters such as the initial vehicle speed,braking acceleration,braking location,and road surface roughness on the mid-span displacement and impact factor of the bridge are analyzed.The results show that vehicle braking significantly amplifies mid-span displacement and impact factor responses in comparison to uniform vehicular motion across the bridge.Notably,the influence of wheelto-bridge friction forces is of particular significance and cannot be overlooked.When the vehicle initiates braking near the middle of the span,both the mid-span displacement and impact factor of the bridge exhibit substantial increases,further escalating with higher braking acceleration.Under favorable road surface conditions,the midspan displacement and the impact factor during vehicle braking may exceed the design values stipulated by codes.It is important to note that road surface roughness exerts a more pronounced effect on the impact factor of the bridge in comparison to the effects of vehicle braking.

Design and evaluation of UHPP steel bridge deck pavement for high-temperature and rainy regions

To enhance the serviceability of steel bridge deck pavement(SBDP)in high-temperature and rainy regions,a concept of rigid bottom and flexible top was summarized using engineering practices,which led to the proposal of a three-layer ultra-high-performance pavement(UHPP).The high-temperature rutting resistance and wet-weather skid resistance of UHPP were evaluated through composite structure tests.The internal temperature distribution within the pavement under typical high-temperature conditions was analyzed using a temperature field model.Additionally,a temperature-stress coupling model was employed to investigate the key load positions and stress response characteristics of the UHPP.The results indicate that compared with the traditional guss asphalt+stone mastic asphalt structure,the dynamic stability of the UHPP composite structure can be improved by up to 20.4%.Even under cyclic loading,UHPP still exhibits superior surface skid resistance compared to two traditional SBDPs.The thickness composition of UHPP significantly impacts its rutting resistance and skid resistance.UHPP exhibits relatively low tensile stress but higher shear stress levels,with the highest shear stress occurring between the UHPP and the steel plate.This suggests that the potential risk of damage for UHPP primarily lies within the interlayer of the pavement.Based on engineering examples,introducing interlayer gravel and optimizing the amount of bonding layer are advised to ensure that UHPP possesses sufficient interlayer shear resistance.

Numerical Simulation Analysis of Welded Joints in Arch Ribs of Large Span Steel Pipe Arch Bridges

In order to study the residual stress distribution law of welded joints of arch ribs of large-span steel pipe concrete arch bridges,numerical simulation of temperature,stress and strain fields based on ABAQUS for welded joints of arch-ribbed steel tubes using 7-,8-and 9-layer welds is carried out and its accuracy is demonstrated.The steel pipe welding temperature changes,residual stress distribution,different processes residual stress changes in the law,the prediction of post-weld residual stress distribution and deformation are studied in this paper.The results show that the temperature field values and test results are more consistent with the accuracy of numerical simulation of welding,the welding process is mainly in the form of heat transfer;Residual high stresses are predominantly distributed in the Fusion zone(FZ)and Heat-affected zone(HAZ),with residual stress levels tending to decrease from the center of the weld along the axial path,the maximum stress appears in the FZ and HAZ junction;The number of welding layers has an effect on the residual stress distribution,the number of welding layers increases,the residual stress tends to decrease,while the FZ and HAZ high stress area range shrinks;Increasing the number of plies will increase the amount of residual distortion.

Defect Inspection Technology for Steel Truss Suspension Bridges

Steel truss suspension bridges are prone to developing defects after prolonged use.These defects may include corrosion of the main cable or the steel truss.To ensure the normal and safe functioning of the suspension bridge,it is necessary to inspect for defects promptly,understand the cause of the defect,and locate it through the use of inspection technology.By promptly addressing defects,the suspension bridge’s safety can be ensured.The author has analyzed the common defects and causes of steel truss suspension bridges and proposed specific inspection technologies.This research is intended to aid in the timely discovery of steel truss suspension bridge defects.

Seismic behavior of steel tubular bridge columns equipped with low-yield-point steel plates in the root replaceable pier

To enable rapid recovery of a steel bridge column after an earthquake,a novel tubular-section steel bridge column equipped with low-yield-point(LYP)steel tubular plates in the root replaceable pier is proposed.For the purpose of discussing the seismic behavior of the novel steel bridge column,quasi-static tests and finite element simulation analyses of the specimens were carried out.The effects of parameters such as the axial compression ratio,eccentricity,and thickness and material strength of the tubular plate in the energy-dissipating zone are discussed.Experimental results from seven specimens that were subjected to four failure modes are presented.The damage to the quasi-static specimens is localized to the replaceable energy-dissipating pier.The seismic behavior of the novel steel bridge columns is significantly influenced by the axial compression ratio and eccentricity of specimens.Numerical results show that the high stress area of the specimens is mainly concentrated in the connection zone between the LYP steel tubular plate and the bottom steel plate,which is consistent with the position of the quasi-static specimen when it was prone to fracture.Finally,a calculation formula is proposed to facilitate the capacity prediction of this new steel tubular bridge column under repeated loading.

Research on the Anticorrosion Coating Under the Paved Layer for Highway Steel Box Bridge Deck

The corrosion of the anticorrosion coating and the defects of the asphalt concrete paved layer have been investigated on long-span steel box bridge decks. The anticorrosion coating lies in the midclle of two entirely different materials： a highway steel box bridge deck and a paved layer, which is used as anticorrosion and waterproof coating for the steel bridge deck. For our study, electrochemical corrosion and pull strength experiments have been selected for the investigation of the corrosion properties of inorganic zinc rich coating, epoxy zinc rich coating and arc sprayed zinc coating. The adhesive strength between the coatings and the panel, and the effect of the coating corrosion on the shear properties of the paved layers including cast asphalt, thermal asphalt mortar, epoxy asphalt and modified asphalt con- crete have been investigated. The results show that the adhesive strength between the coatings and the bridge panel is controlled by the method of pre-processing rust removal. Coating by sandblasting has stronger adhesive strength than coating by shot peening. The results also reveal that shear strength of the paved layer is affected by the corrosion product of zinc coating. The arc sprayed zinc coating has stronger shear strength than zinc rich coatings.