Análise de fadiga em pontes rodoviárias de concreto armado

Abstract

Reinforced concrete highway bridges are subjected to dynamic actions of variable magnitude due to vehicles crossing on the deck pavement. These dynamic actions can generate the nucleation of fractures or even their propagation on the structure. This way, the behaviour and reliability can be compromised and the bridge service life can be reduced. The stress cycles counting techniques and the cumulative damage rules application had been analyzed through S-N curves, based on an extensive revision of concrete bridges service life and theoretical fatigue aspects in reinforced concrete structures, as well as considering the recommended procedures used for the concrete structures main codes. A reinforced concrete skew bridge with spanning 16.5m was investigated in this work. The computational model, developed for the composite bridge dynamic analysis, adopted the usual mesh refinement techniques present in finite element method simulations implemented in the ANSYS program. These viactures are simulated by spring-mass models and the transit are considered by means of semi infinity convoys, displaced with constant velocity across the deck pavement. The proposed analysis methodology and the procedures presented in the design codes were applied, in order to evaluate the bridge fatigue determining the structure service life. The conclusions of this paper have the objective of alerting structural engineers to the possible distortions, associated to the reinforced concrete bridges service life when subjected to dynamic actions due to vehicles crossing on the deck pavement surface.