Mechanical Properties of Bridge Steel from the Late 19th Century

Paweł Grzegorz Kossakowski

doi:10.3390/app11020478

Abstract

This article presents the results of testing of the strength of structural steel taken from a railway bridge. It was built within the borders of today’s Poland during the late 19th century and was in use for over 100 years, until the early 21st century. The main mechanical parameters of the bridge steel, such as its static and impact strength were determined. The results of the analysis of fracture surfaces with the aim of the identification of the material’s macrostructure are also presented. This article discusses the findings and analyses the values of material parameters in the context of requirements resulting from existing standards, and compares the results with those obtained during the testing of bridge steels of a similar age and operational period.

Highlights

IntroductionMechanical Properties of Bridge Steel from the Late 19th Century
The mechanical parameters of bridge steel were defined on the basis of a static tensile test, carried out at room temperature with the controlled increase in displacement
The strength parameters of the analysed bridge steel, which was extracted from a railway bridge that operated on the territory of Poland from the late 19th century till the early 21st century, classify this material as medium-strength steel, taking into consideration steel types widely used today in bridge engineering

Summary

Introduction

Mechanical Properties of Bridge Steel from the Late 19th Century. Sci. Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion