Fatigue experimental characterization of preloaded injection bolts in a metallic bridge strengthening scenario

Bruno Pedrosa, José Correia, Carlos Rebelo, Milan Veljkovic, Helena Gervásio

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1 Citation (Scopus)
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Abstract

All over the world, the number of civil engineering structures, particularly bridges with long service periods, has been increasing. The most common evidences of damages are the presence of corroded metallic elements and cracks in structural details due to the fatigue phenomenon. A large number of cases were found in which fatigue cracks were detected in structural details, such as riveted connections. Different strategies can be implemented for repairing and strengthening operations of old metallic riveted bridges. However, the use of injection bolts has been considered as an alternative with important advantages. In this regard, it is essential to study their performance under fatigue loading. In this investigation, an experimental campaign has been performed to assess the fatigue strength of injection bolts by means of comparison with standard bolts. These fatigue tests are defined to be representative of a structural strengthening scenario of an old metallic bridge. Experimental results show that injection bolts contribute to significantly reduce the scatter in the data related to fatigue resistance. For double shear specimens, the characteristic curve proposed for connections with injection bolts presents a detail category with 15% higher value when compared to non-injected specimens. The beneficial effect is also verified in terms of slip deformation. For single shear specimens, the overall effect of the adhesive is not clear.
Original languageEnglish
Article number112005
Number of pages10
JournalEngineering Structures
Volume234
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2021

Bibliographical note

Green Open Access added to TU Delft Institutional Repository ‘You share, we take care!’ – Taverne project https://www.openaccess.nl/en/you-share-we-take-care

Otherwise as indicated in the copyright section: the publisher is the copyright holder of this work and the author uses the Dutch legislation to make this work public.

Keywords

  • Injection bolts
  • Fatigue
  • Old bridges
  • Structural strengthening
  • Shear connections

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