The Impact of the Gigacycle Fatigue on Steel Bridges

Abstract:

Recent studies have proved that there is no fatigue limit for metallic materials; the stress life curve continuously drops even after 10⁷ cycles. However, existing design codes assume that there is a fatigue limit. Therefore, it is important to use appropriate safety factors if existing codes are used for life evaluations. This paper first describes a method to extend high cycle fatigue stress life curves which are developed using tests on small scale specimens, to the gigacycle regime. Then the difference between the stress life curves of small scale specimens and full scale tests related to steel bridges are explained. Finally, the paper presents a case study on a fatigue critical element of a steel railway bridge to show the significance of the gigacycle regime for fatigue life evaluation.

• Periodical: Key Engineering Materials (Volumes 569-570)
• Pages: 246-253
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.4028/www.scientific.net/KEM.569-570.246
• Online since: July 2013
• Authors: Chaminda S. Bandara, Ranjith Dissanayake
• Keywords: Fatigue, Gigacycles, Life Evaluation, Steel Bridge, Stress Life Curve

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