Capacity of prestressed concrete bridge decks under fatigue loading

In The Netherlands, existing slab-between-girder bridges with prestressed girders and thin transversely prestressed concrete decks require assessment. The punching capacity was studied in a previous series of experiments, showing a higher capacity thanks to compressive membrane action in the deck. Then, concerns were raised with regard to fatigue loading. To address this, two series of large-scale experiments were carried out, varying the number of loads (single wheel print versus double wheel print), the loading sequence (constant amplitude versus variable amplitude, and different loading sequences for variable amplitude), and the distance between the prestressing ducts. An S-N curve is developed for the assessment of slab-between-girder bridges. The experiments showed that compressive membrane actions enhances the capacity of thin transversely prestressed decks subjected to fatigue loading.

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