Abstract
In steel girder bridges, fracture of one girder may occur without noticeable bridge profile changes. It is critical to ensure that the bridge will have adequate capacity to prevent collapse until the next cycle of inspection discovers the damage. It is realized that once one of the bridge girders is fractured, vertical loads need to be distributed through an alternative path to the intact girder(s). In this case, cross-frames can play an important role in transferring the loads and preventing from sudden collapse. This paper investigates the impact of cross-frames on load distribution after a fracture is occurred in one girder. Bridge configurations with different cross-frame spacing were studied using finite element modeling and simulation of the bridge behavior with a fractured steel plate girder. Nonlinear and dynamic solution methods were used for these analyses. Results of this investigation demonstrated the important role cross-frames can play in providing some reserved capacity for the bridge with fractured girder to enhance the bridge redundancy. The contribution of the cross-frames and the behavior of the bridge after fracture in one girder however depends on the configuration of the bridge. A study of the variation of the effect of cross-frames with respect to the number of girders is also included in this paper.
Highlights
In steel girder bridges, fatigue cracking is one of the most important phenomena affecting the structural performance and integrity [1]
A comparison between the girder deflection shows that the fractured girder deflection in the twinAI-ngairldyzeirnbgritdhgeefiins imteoerleemtheannttrwesicuelttshaaltsoofitnhdeicfraatecstutrheadt ginirdtheer tinhrteheeIt-hgriredeeIr-gbirriddegreb, rbidecgaeuisneaolfl the high torsional stiffness of the combination of the two intact girders with cross-frames, there is negligible rotation about the interior girder and the concrete deck above the cross-frames carries some of the vertical load in the transvers direction as a cantilever beam
A numerical investigation was carried out to study the effect of cross-frames on load distribution and global behavior of steel I-girder bridges when one of the girders is fractured
Summary
Fatigue cracking is one of the most important phenomena affecting the structural performance and integrity [1]. It is realized that once one of the bridge girders is fractured, vertical dead and live loads need to be distributed through an alternative path to the intact girder(s) which could occur through the deck or girder cross-frames. This paper investigates the impact of cross-frames on load distribution after a fracture is occurred in one girder Since in this situation, the cross-frame members resist forces that are critical to the proper performance of the damaged bridge, they may need to be considered primary members. Effect of cross-frames with different spacing was investigated for the bridge model with a full depth fracture of one of the exterior girders at the mid-span to simulate. BIncefornamdstribunicngtuaarteinsod2n02too0f,r5ds,ie3os2nigonvterur ctkheanfrdaclatunreeldoagdi.rdFearil,uornelwy aosndeelfainneedobf ythtehebprildagteeauiminmleodaida-tdeilsypalabcoevm4eoetfnht1e4 wftdoccncorcncbouofeuaiuorusmmstcrcmihmiirvamtdgmvbpuipebgpnnebiaruaeneaseertcrtlsiarrderahdigiuettdgtoeeniydgoecnoffakifsltetnaretlocpodcalioccrinocanrecntoieonfgirindasgonns)drsvwnll,stvr-laoere-.yofaeaifnsssrcsssrsisathesatgilmsligiomlonogghooaafaaehfoaettddtsrecedsweciuearna.wwtdnpctplgFhhkoiaiaaiietcetancnhcaihadilcienitueuitFnrsynfydfres.fifegeemettDttlcdohuwcoahettienrebffnacceoeoaysaetssfaf3rrrlpdpdorler,ccaleayyinaywrrsfinndotorhh)nu)auss.c,,iiesnssrpFggaado--tuahthffisssirrlbieseoslaatsesyrrun-hmmhhfdrstlrleoooheoeae[awwfaea4mwnaidid0pnninndea,slsl4u.sa.silt1ilrnotDnophDd]eeaaeaiaeoiFdifFdcfufnrfrifiiiegeenngsditdrsunrahgueeiueifsrdesnrlen(teloteirttttrtb.aysieei3bc3ydbcr.w,riu,,mr-suotodwdtsehwtsisusiiiroseasoffsaeeo-nps-nfpessff,rclr,rlaua[Aoeuaau4cmusmntmAs2leeeltte]metdiapSe,dimnumHtaseuhasparnaTipanmaetantnteOatddcecdbcliiucosnetiLtcnaorhatrgaiavhpgdveoipceea(ne-foia(rcds.vilmcreecii.oitegereis.sy,taobss.unpy,dtudsialliandstsaglilasn-ftaiicafsf(nnfdtereHwftigdamoeerwLtemernlhtoteener9hheeeosnnrt3esseeftt) ebffriedcgt eofdcerfolescst-iforanm. e in load distribution, ultimate capacity and the bridge deflection
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