Methodology for Calibrating Fatigue Load Models for Composite Road Bridges

Engineering ›› DOI: 10.1016/j.eng.2025.06.030

review-article

Author information +

History +

PDF (4060KB)

Abstract

Current fatigue load models (FLMs) for road bridges are typically calibrated based on steel and reinforced-concrete bridges. These models are not likely applicable to fiber–polymer composite bridges, primarily because the damage rate—defined as the slope of the fatigue load versus life (F–N) curve of the composites—is significantly lower for composites than for steel. To address this limitation, a methodology is proposed to derive FLMs for composite road–bridge superstructures, and its application was demonstrated via a case study of a composite bridge deck. The adhesive deck joint was identified as the fatigue-critical location. Given the typically short spans of current composite bridges, a double-axle FLM was adopted, and the axle loads were calibrated using a composite road bridge that has been in service in Switzerland since 2012. Three different slopes of the F–N curve were assumed, all representative of composites. Calibration was based on a series of real traffic loads from the three countries, obtained from weigh-in-motion (WIM) measurements. The FLM axle loads were calibrated at specified numbers of cycles such that the damage generated by the FLM was equal to that in real traffic. Large axle loads were the predominant contributors to damage even at low cycle counts. The relationship between the axle loads and the number of cycles was established as a reference for testing across the three slopes. Characteristic axle loads increased with slope and decreased with cycle number. The results of this study represent an initial step toward developing an FLM for composite road bridge superstructures. Further calibration of bridges with varied geometries and composite materials is required to derive a generally applicable, parametrized model.

Keywords

Composite bridges / Weight-in-motion (WIM) databases / Fatigue load model / Slope coefficient / Equivalent damage / Fatigue assessment

Cite this article

Download citation ▾

Lulu Liu, Johan Maljaars, Thomas Keller. Methodology for Calibrating Fatigue Load Models for Composite Road Bridges. Engineering DOI:10.1016/j.eng.2025.06.030

登录浏览全文

4963

注册一个新账户忘记密码

References

Publishing order | Descend order by publishing year | Descend order by cited within

[1]	E N 1991-2: Eurocode 1—Actions on structures—Part 2: Traffic loads on bridges.European standard.Brussels: European Committee for Standardization; 2023.

[2]	American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO).AASHTO LRFD bridge design specifications (9th Edition). AASHT O standard. Washington, C D: AASHT O; 2020.

[3]	Swiss Society of Engineers and Architects (SIA).SIA 261: Actions on structures.Swiss standard. Zurich: Swiss Society of Engineers and Architects; 2003.

[4]	Croce P.Background to fatigue load models for Eurocode 1: part 2 traffic loads.Prog Struct Eng Mater 2001; 3(4):335-345.

[5]	Maddah N, Nussbaumer A.Evaluation of Eurocode damage equivalent factor based on traffic simulation.In: Proceedings of the Sixth International Conference on Bridge Maintenance, Safety and Management; 2012 Jun; Stresa, Italy. Abingdon: Taylor & Francis.

[6]	Maddah N, Nussbaumer A.Analytical approach for improving damage equivalence factors.Eng Struct 2014; 59:838-847.

[7]	Leander J.Reliability evaluation of the Eurocode model for fatigue assessment of steel bridges.J Constr Steel Res 2018; 141:1-8.

[8]	Walbridge S, Fischer V, Maddah N, Nussbaumer A.Simultaneous vehicle crossing effects on fatigue damage equivalence factors for north American roadway bridges.J Bridge Eng 2013; 18(12):1309-1318.

[9]	Croce P.Impact of road traffic tendency in Europe on fatigue assessment of bridges.Appl Sci 2020; 10(4):1389.

[10]	Maljaars J.Evaluation of traffic load models for fatigue verification of European road bridges.Eng Struct 2020; 225:111326.

[11]	Deng L, Nie L, Zhong W, Wang W.Developing fatigue vehicle models for bridge fatigue assessment under different traffic conditions.J Brid Eng 2021; 26(2):04020122.

[12]	Fr GTøseth, Rönnquist A.Load model of historic traffic for fatigue life estimation of Norwegian railway bridges.Eng Struct 2019; 200:109626.

[13]	Chen WZ, Xu J, Yan BC, Wang ZP.Fatigue load model for highway bridges in heavy loaded areas of China.Adv Steel Constr 2015; 11:322-333.

[14]	Keller T, Rothe J, De JCastro, Osei-Antwi M.GFRP-balsa sandwich bridge deck: concept, design and experimental validation.J Compos Constr 2014; 18(2):04013043.

[15]	Keller T, Theodorou NA, Vassilopoulos AP, de JCastro.Effect of natural weathering on durability of pultruded glass fiber-reinforced bridge and building structures.J Compos Constr 2016; 20(1):04015025.

[16]	Keller T, Gürtler H.Quasi-static and fatigue performance of a cellular FRP bridge deck adhesively bonded to steel girders.Compos Struct 2005; 70(4):484-496.

[17]	Vassilopoulos AP, Keller T.Fatigue and fracture behavior of adhesively-bonded composite structural joints. Elsevier, Amsterdam (2015)

[18]	Vassilopoulos AP, Keller T.Fatigue of fiber-reinforced composites. Springer London, London (2011)

[19]	Liu L, Wang X, Wu Z, Keller T.Effect of fiber architecture on tension-tension fatigue behavior of bolted basalt composite joints.Eng Struct 2023; 286:116089.

[20]	Wu Z, Wang X, Iwashita K, Sasaki T, Hamaguchi Y.Tensile fatigue behaviour of FRP and hybrid FRP sheets.Compos Part B Eng 2010; 41(5):396-402.

[21]	Pereira AM, Reis PNB, Ferreira JAM.Effect of the mean stress on the fatigue behaviour of single lap joints.J Adhes 2017; 93(6):504-513.

[22]	Zhao X, Wang X, Wu Z, Keller T, Vassilopoulos AP.Temperature effect on fatigue behavior of basalt fiber-reinforced polymer composites.Polym Compos 2019; 40(6):2273-2283.

[23]	CEN/TS 19101: Design of fibre–polymer composite structures. European standard. Brussels: European Committee for Standardization; 2022.

[24]	Nussbaumer A, Borges L, Davaine L.Fatigue design of steel and composite structures. European Convention for Constructional Steelwork (ECCS), Portugal (2011)

[25]

Bruls A, Croce P, Sanpaolesi L.GS ENV1991—part 3: traffic loads on bridges; calibration of load models for road bridges.In: Proceedings of the International Association for Bridge and Structural Engineering (IABSE) Colloquium Basis of Design and Actions on Structures; 1993 Mar 27–29; Delft, Netherlands. Zurich: IABS E; 1996. p. 439–54.

[26]	Amzallag C, Gerey JP, Robert JL, Bahuaud J.Standardization of the rainflow counting method for fatigue analysis.Int J Fatigue 1994; 16(4):287-293.

[27]	Lydon M, Taylor SE, Robinson D, Mufti A, Brien EJO.Recent developments in bridge weigh in motion (B-WIM).J Civ Struct Heal Monit 2016; 6(1):69-81.

[28]	Carneiro AL, de EPortela L, Bittencourt TN.Development of Brazilian highway live load model for unlimited fatigue life.Rev IBRACON Estrut Mater 2020; 13(4):2020.

[29]	Wassef WG, Kulicki JM, Nassif H, Mertz D, Nowak AS.Calibration of AASHTO LRFD concrete bridge design specifications for serviceability. National Academies Press, Washington, DC (2014)

[30]	HM Government.The road vehicles (construction and use) regulations 1986. UK Statutory Instruments. London: The National Archives; 1986.

[31]	Hanswille G, Sedlacek G.Traffic loads on road bridges: basis of the load models in EN 1991-2 and DIN.Report. Berlin: Deutsches Institut Fur Normung EV; 2007.

[32]	Maddah N.Fatigue life assessment of roadway bridges based on actual traffic loads. Swiss federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne, Lausanne (2013)

[33]	E N 1990: Eurocode-basis of structural design.European standard.Brussels: European Committee for Standardization; 2001.

[34]	Liu L, Wang X, Wu Z, Keller T.Tension–tension fatigue behavior of ductile adhesively-bonded FRP joints.Compos Struct 2021; 268:113925.

[35]	Jiang Z, Wan S, Fang Z, Song A.Static and fatigue behaviours of a bolted GFRP/steel double lap joint.Thin-walled Struct 2021; 158:107170.

[36]	The Building Research Establishment (BRE).ENV 1991-3 traffic loads on bridges: background and notes for guidance.London: BR E; 1994.

[37]	E N 1993-1: Eurocode 3: design of steel structures—part 1–9: fatigue.European standard.Brussels: European Committee for Standardization; 2005.

[38]	Movahedi-Rad AV, Keller T, Vassilopoulos AP.Creep effects on tension-tension fatigue behavior of angle-ply GFRP composite laminates.Int J Fatigue 2019; 123:144-156.

[39]	D A’Amore, Grassia L.Principal features of fatigue and residual strength of composite materials subjected to constant amplitude (CA) loading.Materials 2019; 12(16):2586.

[40]	Michel SA, Kieselbach R, Martens HJ.Fatigue strength of carbon fibre composites up to the gigacycle regime (gigacycle-composites).Int J Fatigue 2006; 28(3):261-270.

[41]	Broutman L, Sahu S.A new theory to predict cumulative fatigue damage in fiberglass reinforced plastics.In: Proceedings of the Second Conference on Composite Materials: Testing and Design; 1971 Apr 20–22; Anaheim, C A, USA. West Conshohocken: ASTM International; 1972.

[42]	Sarfaraz R, Vassilopoulos AP, Keller T.Block loading fatigue of adhesively bonded pultruded GFRP joints.Int J Fatigue 2013; 49:40-49.

[43]	Gamstedt EK, Sjögren BA.An experimental investigation of the sequence effect in block amplitude loading of cross-ply composite laminates.Int J Fatigue 2002; 24(2–4):437-446.

[44]	Epaarachchi JA, Clausen PD.A new cumulative fatigue damage model for glass fibre reinforced plastic composites under step/discrete loading.Compos Part A Appl Sci Manuf 2005; 36(9):1236-1245.

[45]	Van W Paepegem, Degrieck J.Effects of load sequence and block loading on the fatigue response of fiber-reinforced composites.Mech Adv Mater Struct 2002; 9(1):19-35.

[46]	Shiri S, Yazdani M, Pourgol-Mohammad M.A fatigue damage accumulation model based on stiffness degradation of composite materials.Mater Des 2015; 88:1290-1295.