Influence of temperature action on the fatigue effect of steel deck with pavement

With regard to the steel deck of Runyang Suspension Bridge, the influences of temperature changes of pavement on the fatigue effects of two types of welded details are investigated based on monitoring data. Because of large amount of elements in the global finite element model of Runyang Suspension Bridge, the sensitive parameters of a simplified finite element model for the fatigue analysis of the steel deck is firstly obtained based on the sensitivity analysis, and then the optimal values of sensitive parameters are calculated by the matrix iteration of sensitive coefficients. Furthermore, the simplified finite element model for the fatigue analysis of the steel deck with pavement is established and the fatigue effects of two typical welding details under changing temperature actions are investigated. The analysis results reveal that:1) the equivalent stress amplitudes of two types of welded details are linearly correlated with the temperature of a steel deck;2) the simplified analytical model for the fatigue effects of the steel deck is a partially structural system, which is longitudinally supported on the transverse diaphragm and transversely supported on the longitudinal rib;3) the analytical method for the fatigue effects of a steel deck with pavement can accurately calculate the fatigue effects of welded details under the combined actions of vehicle loading and temperature.