Development of a load capacity evaluation method for an entire bridge including corroded members using point cloud data and verification by structural experiments

Abstract

In this research, a method is developed to construct an FE model that reflects a slight decrease in plate thickness due to corrosion from point cloud data to evaluate the load capacity of an entire bridge including corroded members. As a case study, the cyclic test of an H-section beam corresponding to a brace member of a bridge is performed. Its FE model is based on a fiber model generated from the point cloud data, and the fiber elements in the corroded area, where local buckling is likely to dominate, are converted to a shell model. The MML model is applied as the constitutive equation of the steel to reproduce the complex behavior under the cyclic loading. Finally, it is confirmed that the FE analysis reproduces the loaddisplacement relationship and the deformed shape of the experiment.