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Smart Structures and Systems Volume 16, Number 2, August 2015 , pages 367-382 DOI: https://doi.org/10.12989/sss.2015.16.2.367 |
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Reliability-based assessment of steel bridge deck using a mesh-insensitive structural stress method |
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X.W. Ye, Ting-Hua Yi, C. Wen and Y.H. Su
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| Abstract | ||
| This paper aims to conduct the reliability-based assessment of the welded joint in the orthotropic steel bridge deck by use of a mesh-insensitive structural stress (MISS) method, which is an effective numerical procedure to determine the reliable stress distribution adjacent to the weld toe. Both the solid element model and the shell element model are first established to investigate the sensitivity of the element size and the element type in calculating the structural stress under different loading scenarios. In order to achieve realistic condition assessment of the welded joint, the probabilistic approach based on the structural reliability theory is adopted to derive the reliability index and the failure probability by taking into account the uncertainties inherent in the material properties and load conditions. The limit state function is formulated in terms of the structural resistance of the material and the load effect which is described by the structural stress obtained by the MISS method. The reliability index is computed by use of the first-order reliability method (FORM), and compared with a target reliability index to facilitate the safety assessment. The results achieved from this study reveal that the calculation of the structural stress using the MISS method is insensitive to the element size and the element type, and the obtained structural stress results serve as a reliable basis for structural reliability analysis. | ||
| Key Words | ||
| orthotropic steel bridge deck; welded joints; hot spot stress; finite element analysis; reliability index; failure probability | ||
| Address | ||
| X.W. Ye: Department of Civil Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China Ting-Hua Yi: School of Civil Engineering, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian 116023, China C. Wen, Y.H. Su: School of Civil Engineering, Lanzhou University of Technology, Lanzhou 730050, China | ||