Fatigue Resistance Analysis of the Orthotropic Steel Deck with Arc-Shaped Stiffener

Abstract

The orthotropic steel deck is widely used in long-span steel bridges due to its simplicity and efficiency. The welded joint of the U-rib to e deck panel area is extremely sensitive to fatigue cracks. In this study, an orthotropic steel deck with an arc-shape stiffener was proposed that aimed to alleviate the fatigue cracks and enhance the fatigue resistance in long-span steel bridges. Based on the Mingzhu Bay steel bridge, the proposed steel deck FE model was first established. Then, the moving vehicle load was applied to investigate the impact of the arc-shape stiffener on the fatigue stress amplitude and distribution. The Miner fatigue cumulative damage theory was employed to evaluate the fatigue life of the orthotropic steel deck with arc-shaped stiffener, and comparative analyses were carried out. Finally, the results show the maximum stress of the orthotropic steel deck with an arc-shaped stiffener is reduced by 15%, and the fatigue life is improved by 40% compared with the OSD.