Enhanced Fatigue Life of Old Metallic Bridges - Application of Preloaded Injection Bolts

There is a significant number of old metallic bridges with high levels of structural degradation due to their long service period. Fatigue problems are especially important in these structures since the majority of them were not designed taking into account this phenomenon. Several investigations showed that riveted joints are critical...

Fatigue experimental characterization of preloaded injection bolts in a metallic bridge strengthening scenario

All over the world, the number of civil engineering structures, particularly bridges with long service periods, has been increasing. The most common evidences of damages are the presence of corroded metallic elements and cracks in structural details due to the fatigue phenomenon. A large number of cases were found in which fatigue cracks were...

Material-structure integrated design optimization of GFRP bridge deck on steel girder

Design optimization of fiber-reinforced polymeric (FRP) composite products is essential to facilitate their applications in engineering structures. For bridge structures, the main design optimization goals are the reduction of FRP material consumption and the structure weight, which aim to reduce the initial construction cost and achieve a...

A novel asynchronous-pouring-construction technology for prestressed concrete box girder bridges with corrugated steel webs

Owing to the superior mechanical performance and material efficiency, the combination of prestressed concrete (PC) slabs and corrugated steel webs (CSW) as PC girder with CSWs (PCGCSW) is extensively applied to railway and highway bridges. To overcome the shortcomings of traditional balanced cantilever construction (TBCC) of PCGCSW, reduce...

Reliability of Fatigue Strength Curves for Riveted Connections Using Normal and Weibull Distribution Functions

In North America and Europe, there is a significant number of centenary metallic bridges that require maintenance and strengthening operations. These structures need to be adapted to increasing traffic intensities, and their structural integrity should be constantly evaluated. Fatigue damages were not considered in the original design of old...

Fatigue resistance curves for single and double shear riveted joints from old portuguese metallic bridges

The maintenance and safety of ancient bridges is a major concern of governmental authorities. In particular, the safety of old riveted bridges fabricated and placed into service at the end of the 19th century deserves particular attention. These structures are susceptible to exhibit high fatigue damage levels due to their long operational...