Fatigue‐Reliability Evaluation of Steel Bridges

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Abstract
The fatigue reliability of steel‐bridge components is evaluated. The most commonly used S‐N curve‐based American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) method is considered first. The limit‐state equation and the uncertainty associated with all the basic random variables are quantified. Using the advanced first‐order second‐moment method, the corresponding probability of failure is calculated in terms of the reliability index. It is observed that the reliability index is very similar to other design problems involving steel structures. Since the AASHTO approach cannot incorporate the crack‐size information even if it is known at the time of evaluation, an alternative linear‐elastic fracture mechanics (LEFM) method is proposed. The corresponding limit‐state equation and the basic variables are identified, and the uncertainties associated with them are quantified. The reliability index is calculated similarly. For comparison purposes, the reliability indexes according to the AASH...

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