BEGIN:VCALENDAR
VERSION:2.0
PRODID:-//Memento EPFL//
BEGIN:VEVENT
SUMMARY:Fatigue Testing and Analysis of Highway Bridge Welds under In-Serv
 ice Variable Amplitude Loading Conditions
DTSTART:20110128T140000
DTSTAMP:20260506T143950Z
UID:2efc128933a6b22941036c54baef37e59f629bd046d812270c8b8043
CATEGORIES:Conferences - Seminars
DESCRIPTION:Assist. Prof. Scott Walbridge\, Department of Civil and Enviro
 nmental Engineeering\, University of Waterloo\, Waterloo\, Canada\nThis pr
 esentation will summarize two recent studies wherein steel and aluminium t
 ransverse stiffener welds were fatigue tested under simulated in-service l
 oading conditions typical of highway bridges. The test results were then u
 sed to validate a strain-based fracture mechanics model\, which was subseq
 uently used to predict the fatigue behaviour of similar welds under a wide
 r range of influence lines\, bridge spans\, and loading conditions.\n\nThe
  focus of the first study was steel welds – both in the “as-received
 ” condition and “treated” to improve the fatigue performance by need
 le peening. The employed model was found to be particularly well-suited fo
 r analyzing the treated welds\, as it considers several crack growth accel
 erating mechanisms\, which are generally not modelled in a linear elastic 
 analysis. Using the validated model\, it was found that introducing overlo
 ad trucks in the traffic simulation decreases the predicted benefit of pee
 ning. This benefit can still be substantial\, however\, for a wide range o
 f loading conditions likely to be seen in highway bridges.\n\nFor the seco
 nd study\, calculations were performed to establish damage equivalence fac
 tors for aluminum for use with the AASHTO and CAN/CSA-S6 bridge codes. In 
 addition\, fatigue tests of aluminum welds under simulated highway bridge 
 loading conditions were performed. The same analytical model was then vali
 dated and used to perform simulations encompassing a wider range of loadin
 g conditions. Based on this work\, future research needs and possibilities
  for further extending the employed methodology are identified.
LOCATION:GC A 330
STATUS:CONFIRMED
END:VEVENT
END:VCALENDAR