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 detected in structural details, such as riveted connections. Different strategies can be implemented for repairing and strengthening operations of old metallic riveted bridges. However, the use of injection bolts has been considered as an alternative with important advantages. In this regard, it is essential to study their performance under fatigue loading. In this investigation, an experimental campaign has been performed to assess the fatigue strength of injection bolts by means of comparison with standard bolts. These fatigue tests are defined to be representative of a structural strengthening scenario of an old metallic bridge. Experimental results show that injection bolts contribute to significantly reduce the scatter in the data related to fatigue resistance. For double shear specimens, the characteristic curve proposed for connections with injection bolts presents a detail category with 15% higher value when compared to non-injected specimens. The beneficial effect is also verified in terms of slip deformation. For single shear specimens, the overall effect of the adhesive is not clear.@en

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 period with increasing traffic intensity associated to an original design not covering the fatigue phenomenon. This paper reviews recent fatigue behaviour investigations on single and double shear riveted joints performed by Universities of Porto (Portugal), Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro (Portugal), and Wrocław (Poland), in particular concerning the fatigue characterization of riveted joints extracted from representative Portuguese riveted bridges, namely the Eiffel, Luiz I, Fão, Pinhão and Trezói bridges. In order to overcome the influence of scatter and establish a reliable assessment for the obtained experimental data, two statistical approaches were used: implement linearized boundaries following the recommendation in ASTM E739 standard and defining probabilistic S–N fields using the Castillo & Fernández-Canteli model. This statistical analysis allows to propose design S–N curves for single and double riveted joints and evaluate the applicability (safety) of using the design curves suggested in Eurocode 3 as well as design curves proposed by Taras and Greiner.@en

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 metallic bridges, and riveted connections are one of the most frequent sources of fatigue damages on these structures. This paper intends to be a contribution for the reliable assessment of the fatigue behavior of riveted connections by proposing S-N curves for these structural details. Experimental fatigue data is analyzed from multiple bridges across Europe, and different statistical methods were implemented. A normal distribution function was implemented following the ISO 12107 standard, and the results were compared with the implementation of the two-parameter Weibull distribution function. Different estimation methodologies were implemented to determine the parameters of the Weibull distribution. S-N curves obtained by the statistical analysis were then compared with design recommendations from North American and European standards. @en