On the fatigue behavior of precast concrete bridge decks in high-speed railway lines

Abstract

This communication focuses on the fatigue behavior of continuous bridge decks, in high-speed lines, built with precast concrete U-shaped girders transversally connected through thin cast-in-place slabs. This work aims to highlight the relevance of three specific aspects, in terms of mechanical response of this type of structure: (i) the cyclic behavior of cracked RC elements; (ii) the fatigue strength of girder webs and slabs; (iii) the fatigue damage due to influence of simultaneous train crossings. The numerical procedures developed for analysis of each of these aspects are identified. The comparison between analytical results and experiments reported in the bibliography is also presented. Finally, relevant conclusions regarding the analysis of real structures are discussed.