RESEARCH ON PROPAGATION CHARACTERISTICS AND REINFORCEMENT METHOD OF PENETRATING CRACK AT RIB-TO-DIAPHRAGM WELDED JOINTS IN STEEL BRIDGE DECK

The rib-to-diaphragm welded joints in the deck of an orthotropic steel bridge is most prone to fatigue cracking. A FE model was established and fracture mechanics was used to study the reinforcement effect of angle steel reinforcement methods on the penetrating crack at fatigue vulnerable details. Based on the finite element model corresponding to a full-foot segment fatigue test model, a penetrating fatigue model was established for the cracks in rib-to-diaphragm welded joints, and the reinforcement effect was evaluated on two reinforcement techniques:bolted angle steel and the bolted steel plate beside a longitudinal rib. The results indicate that:the fatigue cracks at the welded joint in the rib-to-diaphragm of a steel bridge deck expand into a certain length and will develop into penetrating cracks, the deformation of the crack surface under stress conditions is complicated, the fatigue crack propagation characteristics of the inner and outer side of longitudinal ribs are not the same, and as the crack propagation progresses, the cracking mode of the crack tip will be dominated by composite cracking. The existing research results show that:the bolted angle steel reinforcement method can well inhibit the longitudinal rib and diaphragm connection details of the vulnerable part with the fatigue crack type I cracking. Therefore, the short crack propagation can be well suppressed. However, the reinforcement effect on penetrating fatigue cracks extended in a composite type in this detail is not as good as the short crack that have not penetrated the web; the reinforcement method of the half U rib steel plates bolted to the outside of longitudinal ribs can effectively reduce the equivalent stress intensity factor of penetrating fatigue cracks, and stay below the crack propagation threshold after reinforcement. It shows that the reinforcement method has a good reinforcement effect on penetrating fatigue cracks.