FATIGUE OF EXISTING REINFORCED-CONCRETE BRIDGE DECK SLABS

Provisions for the fatigue safety evaluation of existing bridges rely on a narrow knowledge basis. The fatigue safety of existing reinforced concrete deck slabs often cannot be verified if current fatigue desig n provisions are applied. A brief discussion of fatigue models allows for the determination of their utility in a stepwise approach to fatig ue examination of existing bridges. To enhance the knowledge for more realistic predictions of the remaining fatigue life of existing struct ures, results of an ongoing research with fatigue tests on slab-like c oncrete beams are presented and interpreted. First results indicate th at current fatigue design provisions appear to be conservative and tha t the fatigue reliability of existing deck slabs is satisfactory if th e principles of good fatigue design and construction practice have bee n respected. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.