Computational fatigue durability of butt welds with cracks in the flanges of the solid-web girder of the railway bridge

Abstract

In 2018, passed the 40th anniversary of the death of prof. Andrzej Fabiszewski (1924-1978), a forerunner of testing the quality of butt welds in exploited railway bridges. One of the first surveyed facilities was the viaduct on the Poznań-Szczecin line discussed in the article. A very bad state of welds was found and there were 61 internal cracks. In order to estimate the durability of the facility, strength tests of the steel of the structure were carried out and static calculations were made against standard and operational loads. The fatigue life of a crack in a flange joint of one girder was also analyzed. The results of these tests are included in the article.

Keywords

• railway
• steel bridges
• welded structures
• fatigue strength