Fatigue Performance Evaluation for an Orthotropic Steel Bridge Deck Based on Field Hotspot Stress Measurements

Abstract This study has introduced a method for fatigue performance evaluation of steel orthotropic bridge decks based on filed measurements for hotspot stress. The long-term stress of the orthotropic bridge deck of Jinchang Road Canal Bridge in Hangzhou, China, was observed by sensors. The fatigue damage and fatigue reliability of the bridge deck were analyzed and evaluated according to the stress. The results show that: (a) the fatigue life of the bridge deck is larger than the design value, indicating that the design of the orthotropic bridge deck is reasonable; (b) the fatigue loads acting at three hotspots can be described by normal distribution; and (c) for the current traffic volume, the fatigue reliability index of the three hotspots is greater than two in the design period. The fatigue reliability index of the three hotspots decreases significantly with the increase of traffic flow, at which time the fatigue damage becomes considerable.