INCREASING THE REMAINING FATIGUE SERVICE LIFE OF STEEL STRUCTURES USING ADHESIVELY BONDED COMPOSITES – DESIGN APPROACH DEVELOPED IN FASSTBRIDGE, 2018
ABSTRACT
Steel bridges present frequent fatigue problems that reduce their load-carrying capacity and residual life. The mainstream method to strengthen steel bridges, the attachment of steel plates to the tension flange of the girders, has several disadvantages. Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymers (CFRP) composites, though more expensive than steel plates (price per unit/m2), have relevant advantages for the retrofitting of steel bridges: their application is less intrusive to the existing structure and less time-consuming than traditional. The overall objective of FASSTbridge is to develop and demonstrate a reliable preventive, cost-effective and sustainable solution for steel bridges life-time extension using CFRP instead of steel plates. This paper will present the developed fatigue assessment tool used to determine the remaining fatigue life of steel structures and will introduce the design of reinforcement in fatigue using adhesively bonded CFRP. Finally, the gain in service life using this methodology will be presented.
– Mazen Wahbeh, Rami Boundouki, Mark Weidemueller, Sylvain Chataigner, Elena Martin, Luis Sopena, “Increasing the remaining fatigue service life of steel structures using adhesively bonded composites – Design approach developed in FASSTbridge,” 9th International Conference on Fiber-Reinforced Polymer (FRP) Composites in Civil Engineering, Paris, July 2018.