Life extension of welded steel details in bridges

Sammanfattning: High-Frequency Mechanical Impacts (HFMI) is a surface treatment technique utilized to introduce residual stresses and extend the service life of structures. This project primarily focuses on studying the life extension effects of HFMI on welded structures that have undergone fatigue and have existing cracks. This is of significant importance for the maintenance of structures jointed with welds, such as bridge structures. Therefore, this project selected welded components with lower fatigue strength in bridge structures as research specimens for analysis and testing.To simulate the conditions that bridges experienced over many years of usage, initial notches were prepared near the weld toes. A data acquisition and control system was developed to analyze crack propagation behavior, using NI devices to assess the pre-fatigue condition and control the fatigue testing machine. To understand the test results, fracture mechanics calculations and finite element simulations were applied for comparison.In conclusion, based on the experimental results, HFMI improves the life of welded structures with cracks. This demonstrates the feasibility of using HFMI for the maintenance of bridge welding structures and extending their service life.