Fatigue Life of Steel Bridges

Steel bridge structures are subjected to repeated cyclic stresses due to traffic load. The damage accumulation of these cyclic stresses can initiate cracks and lead to the fatigue failure of a bridge member. Generally, a certain safety level can be achieved by using the procedures specified in the AASHTO bridge design standards. However, changes in the service condition, such as an increase in vehicle weight and traffic volume, can impact the service life of a bridge structure. This book provides an evaluation procedure for fatigue reliability-based analysis of steel bridge structures. The procedure can be utilized to evaluate the remaining fatigue life at a prescribed confidence level. An application of bridge instrumentation, weigh-in-motion measurement, and traffic monitoring on a fatigue evaluation is also presented. The book will be of interest to researchers, bridge engineers, and those involved in the field of structural evaluation and maintenance.