Abstract
As moving load testing of RC slabs of highway bridges takes several months, drying shrinkage of concrete progresses concurrently with fatigue-induced damage during this time. Further, as actual bridges are placed in service after drying shrinkage has progressed to some extent, RC slab fatigue life test results do not correspond with the actual life of RC slabs in service. This study investigated the effect of the combined action of drying shrinkage and fatigue-induced damage by using multi-scale analysis based on thermodynamics. The increase in deflection under fatigue load was found to be the result of the combined action of shrinkage and load-induced fatigue damage, and the process by which damage progresses through their interaction was elucidated.
