Fatigue assessment of suspension bridges carrying rail and road traffic based on SHMS

Zhiwei Chen, You Lin Xu, Kaiyuen Wong

Research output: Chapter in book / Conference proceedingConference article published in proceeding or bookAcademic researchpeer-review

Abstract

Many long-span suspension bridges have been built around the world, and many of them carry both of rail and road traffic. Fatigue assessment shall be performed to ensure the safety and functionality of these bridges. This paper first briefly introduces the main procedure of fatigue assessment recommended by British Standard, and then it is applied to the Tsing Ma suspension bridge in Hong Kong. Vehicle spectrum of trains and road vehicles are investigated based on the measurement data of trains and road vehicles recorded by the Structural Health Monitoring System (SHMS) installed on the bridge so that fatigue damage assessment will be more realistic and accurate. Stress influence lines corresponding to railway tracks and highway lanes are established based on a complex finite element bridge model so that an accurate vehicle-induced stress response can be estimated based on them. The fatigue-critical locations for different type of bridge components are identified in terms of the maximum stress range due to a standard train running over the bridge. Finally, the fatigue life at the fatigue-critical locations due to both trains and road vehicles are estimated, and the result indicates the bridge is in very good condition.
Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationProgress in Industrial and Civil Engineering
Pages2019-2027
Number of pages9
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 27 Nov 2012
Event2012 International Conference on Civil, Architectural and Hydraulic Engineering, ICCAHE 2012 - Zhangjiajie, China
Duration: 10 Aug 201212 Aug 2012

Publication series

NameApplied Mechanics and Materials
Volume204-208
ISSN (Print)1660-9336
ISSN (Electronic)1662-7482

Conference

Conference2012 International Conference on Civil, Architectural and Hydraulic Engineering, ICCAHE 2012
Country/TerritoryChina
CityZhangjiajie
Period10/08/1212/08/12

Keywords

  • Fatigue
  • Highway
  • Railway
  • Structural health monitoring
  • Suspension bridge

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General Engineering

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