FATIGUE EVALUATION FOR ROOT CRACKS IN U-RIB TO DECK WELDED JOINTS OF ORTHOTROPIC STEEL DECKS

Abstract

 This paper examines a fatigue evaluation method for the cracks in the weld joints between a U-rib and a deck plate in orthotropic steel bridge decks. The crack initiates from the weld root and propagates into the deck plate or the weld bead. Fatigue tests and FE analyses were conducted in order to examine the local stresses available for fatigue assessment, and to propose a method to estimate them from some reference stresses around the weld joint. In addition, based on fatigue crack propagation analyses, a method to predict the crack propagation path was proposed.