Abstract
Fatigue cracking is prone to occur in orthotropic steel decks (OSDs) due to its complex geometry. To guarantee structural safety and extend the fatigue life of OSDs in steel bridges, the repair technique of adhesively bonded steel patches, which has the advantage of lower cost, easy operation, and not damaging the original structure, is experimentally studied using simplified cracked steel plate specimens. Four repair schemes were considered including bare plate, single-sided patched, double-sided patched, and stop-hole repaired. The failure mode, fatigue crack propagation, and adhesive damage were studied to evaluate the effects of steel patch repair. The morphological analysis was performed to investigate the fatigue fracture characteristics and metal interface performance. The outcomes showed that adhesively bonded steel patches could significantly improve the fatigue life of cracked steel plates and the strengthening was more effective for double-sided patched specimens than single-sided patched specimens. In comparison, the repair effect of the stop-hole method is limited for cracked specimens.
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
