Fatigue damage accumulation modelling of critical components subjected to moving crane loads in reinforced-concrete industrial buildings

Abstract

The present work aims to formulate a numerical procedure for modelling fatigue damage accumulation in critical components of reinforced-concrete industrial buildings. Preliminary hierarchical structural-level finite element analysis is performed to locate the critical components. Regularly identified are the RC beams subjected to moving crane loads. Based on an extended damage model for high-cycle fatigue problems, investigated are the RC beams subjected to moving crane loads with constant and variable amplitude. In order to accommodate the practical scenarios, a case of accidental loading is further studied. The simulated process of fatigue damage accumulation is designated up to 70 years of operation. The results show, compared to the case of constant amplitude, the fatigue damage evolution in RC beam increases appreciably when subjected to variable amplitude. The phenomenon of structural deterioration is particularly highlighted in the case of variable amplitude after long-term operation. Furthermore, accidental overloading has appreciable impact on the fatigue damage accumulation of RC beams, which aggravates the structural deterioration. The work provides a numerical framework for damage prognosis and safety assessment on the RC buildings that have been in service for decades under a variety of loading scenarios.