The Remaining Life in Deteriorated Steel Deck-Girder Highway Bridges

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This research will follow a novel approach for assessing remaining life in an existing simple-span, steel girder highway bridge. The objectives are to develop a method for obtaining a quantitative assessment of the deterioration in a steel bridge caused by corrosion, and to develop testing procedures for estimating the remaining life in the most highly stressed material in an existing steel bridge without jeopardizing that life. The investigation will be based on tests of bridge beams that have been taken out of service after performing for more than 50 years. Both axial fatigue testing of small specimens and testing of entire beams will be conducted. To quantify the effect of corrosion, the fatigue strength reduction factor will be calculated using a form of Neuber's rule. The testing procedure for estimating remaining life will be based on using salvaged beams to establish how the fraction of life remaining varies between specific locations. Full-sized salvaged beams will be tested.