Load effect and fatigue damage of bridges under combined actions of traffic and wind: a case study

Study of load effects on bridges with large windward sides has to consider not only passing vehicles but also wind actions. This paper concerns the method to calculate actual load effect and fatigue damage under combined actions of traffic and wind, taking one of the steel rods of Anyang Bridge as an example project. Firstly, internal force time-history of the rod was simulated based on measured data of traffic load and wind field. Then, extreme values of internal force of the rod were extrapolated using an improved method based on level crossing, and stress spectra of three fatigue-prone details on the rod were gained using the rain-flow method. Finally, the rod was checked under ultimate limit state and fatigue limit state, respectively. It was found that characteristic values of internal force of the rod under combined actions of traffic and wind increased from +5 849/-4 063 kN (considering vehicle actions alone) to +6 350/-5 466 kN and the maximum damage degree of fatigue-prone details increased from 0.61 (considering vehicle actions alone) to 0.63. These results suggest that wind load contributes a significant increase to internal force characteristic values of the rod but a small increase to fatigue damage. However, high stress amplitudes due to wind load do not allow infinite life design. The actual load level is much higher than that prescribed in the design code. Hence, wind actions should be fully considered.