• Journal of Korean Society of Steel Construction
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.23-32
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• 2006

This study was conducted to improve the design and construction technique of orthotropic steel-deck bridges. After conducting an F.E.M. analysis of the various rib types of the connection details, static and fatigue tests were conducted, using a three-dimensional, full-scaled, orthotropic, steel-deck-plate model with internal diaphrams, to check the fatigue strength depending on the types of details. The model structure was made of two types of longitudinal ribs: the domestic standard and the European rabbit types. The fatigue strength of the steel-deck system was found to have improved through the installation of an internal diaphram, as no cracks were found on the bottom round part of the scallop with a diaphram. There were no differences between the domestic and the European types of details in terms of strength may be partially influenced by the shape of the scallop and by the installation of an internal diaphram, but it can be improved more significantly according to the quality of the welding that will be done.

• Journal of the Computational Structural Engineering Institute of Korea
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.443-451
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• 2007

The improvement of stiffness by the increase of thickness of deck plate or the reinforcement of longitudinal rib is one method among the effective methods to control fatigue damages occurring in orthotropic steel deck. It is likely that the increase of stiffness is effective to restrain local deformation caused by axial load in the steel deck. Therefore, in this study, the parameter studies for the reinforced structural details such as the bulk-head plate and vertical rib which is established to reduce the resultant stresses in the connection parts of the longitudinal rib and floor beam were performed with FE analysis. From the results, it was known that the reinforced structural detail with the bulk-head plate in the longitudinal ribs reduced overall the principal stresses at the connection parts, but the stress concentration increased in the weld toe parts which are occurring fatigue cracks. Also, it was estimated that the reinforced structural detail with the vortical rib in the longitudinal ribs because of the reduction of stress concentration in the weld toe parts is more effective details than the bulk-head plate.

• International Journal of Highway Engineering
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.1-9
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• 2013

PURPOSES: The purpose of this study is to evaluate physical properties, durability, fatigue resistance, and long-term performance of poly-urethane concrete (PU) which can be possible application of thin layer on long-span orthotropic steel bridge and to check structural stability of bridge structure. METHODS : Various tests of physical properties, such as flexural strength, tensile strength, bond strength and coefficient of thermal expansion tests were conducted for physical property evaluation using two types of poly urethane concrete which have different curing time. Freezing and thawing test, accelerated weathering test and chloride ion penetration test were performed to evaluate the effect of exposed to marine environment. Beam fatigue test and small scale accelerated pavement test were performed to assess the resistance of PU against fatigue damage and long-term performance. Structural analysis were conducted to figure out structural stability of bridge structure and thin bridge deck pavement system. RESULTS: The property tests results showed that similar results were observed overall however the flexural strength of PUa was higher than those of PUb. It was also found that PU materials showed durability at marine environment. Beam fatigue test results showed that the resistances of the PUa against fatigue damage were two times higher than those of the PUb. It was found form small scale accelerated pavement test to evaluate long-term performance that there is no distress observed after 800,000 load applications. Structural analysis to figure out structural stability of bridge structure and thin bridge deck pavement system indicated that bridge structures were needed to increase thickness of steel deck plate or to improve longitudinal rib shape. CONCLUSIONS: It has been known that the use of PU can be positively considered to thin layer on long-span orthotropic steel bridge in terms of properties considered marine environment, resistance of fatigue damage and long-term performance.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.26 no.6A
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• pp.943-953
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• 2006

We investigated experimentally the static behavior of an orthotropic bridge deck which is made from glass fiber reinforced polymer (GFRP) and polyurethane foam. The bridge deck consists of many unit cells with rectangular holes which are filled with the foam to improve its structural behavior in its weak axis. It is found that although the elastic modulus of the foam compared to that of the GFRP is about the order of, the structural behaviors in the weak axis such as nominal strength, stiffness, etc. are greatly improved. Owing to the low mass density of the foam used in this study, the bridge deck is still light enough with the improved structural properties. Webs of the cells filled with the foam did not significantly contribute to the strength development of the deck. However, the propagation of a crack initiated in a cell is caught by the webs and limited to the inside of that cell only, which makes the load-displacement behavior of the foam-filled GFRP deck less brittle.

• Journal of Korean Society of Steel Construction
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• v.13 no.6
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• pp.621-629
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• 2001

This study consists of static and fatigue tests to evaluate the behavior on the field splice joint of longitudinal rib in orthotropic steel deck specimens. Specifically, static and influence surface tests are performed for the stress distribution at the scallop area and high-strength bolt connection of longitudinal rib to examine the existence of handhole cover plate and the effect of eccentric loads. The ultimate strength of the field splice joint of longitudinal rib is obtained. In fatigue tests, cracks are observed at the scallop in the lower level test and the catastrophic failure of longitudinal rib is occurred following the failure of handhole cover plate in the higher level test. This study gives a basis for the better understanding of the field splice joint of longitudinal rib.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.135-148
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• 2015

The cutout hole locating at the place of rib-to-diaphragm welded connection is adopted to minimize the restraint, which is caused by the floor-beam web to rib rotation at the support due to the unsymmetrical loads in orthotropic deck. In practice, an inevitable problem is that there is a large number of welding joint's cracks formed at the edge of cutout hole. In this study, a comparative experiment is carried out with two types of cutout hole, the circular arc transition and the vertical transition. The fatigue life estimation of specimens is investigated with the application of the structural hot spot stress approach by finite element analyses. The results are compared with the ones of the fatigue tests which are carried out on these full-scale specimens. Factors affecting the stress range are also studied.

• Journal of the Computational Structural Engineering Institute of Korea
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.237-247
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• 2001

강상판교는 부재수가 많고 구조적 거동이 복잡하여 재래적인 단일수준 (CSL) 알고리즘을 이용하여 최적화하는 것이 매우 어렵기 때문에 본 연구에서는 강상판교를 효율적으로 최적화하기 위해 다단계 최적설계 (MLDS) 알고리즘이 제안되었다. 강상판교를 주형과 강상판으로 나누기 위해 등위법이 사용되었고, 시스템 최적화를 위하여 설계 변수를 줄이는 분해법이 사용되었다. 효율적인 최적설계를 위해 다단계 최적설계 알고리즘은 제약조건 소거기법(Constraint Deletion)과 응력 재해석 같은 근사화 기법을 도입하였다. 변위해석을 위한 제약조건 소거기법은 교량의 최적화에 효율적인 것으로 검증되었고, 제안된 응력 재해석 기법 또한 설계민감도 해석을 필요로 하지 않으므로 매우 효율적이다. MLDS 알고리즘의 적용성과 강건성은 다양한 수치예제를 사용하여 기존의 단일수준 알고리즘과 비교하였다.

• Composites Research
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.1-6
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• 2014

Theories for composite material structures are too difficult for such design engineers for construction and some simple but accurate enough methods are necessary. The author has reported that some laminate orientations have decreasing values of $D_{16}$, $B_{16}$, $D_{26}$ and $B_{26}$ stiffnesses as the ply number increases. For such plates, the fiber orientations given above behave as specially orthotropic plates and simple formulas developed by the author. Most of the bridge deck structures on girders have large aspect ratios. For such cases further simplification is possible by neglecting the effect of the longitudinal moment terms $M_x$ on the relevant partial differential equations of equilibrium. In this paper, the result of the study on the subject problem is presented.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.367-382
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• 2015

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.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.2 no.1
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• pp.67-84
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• 2002

Traffic decks of steel or composite motorway bridges sometimes provide the opportunity of using the composite action between an existing steel deck and a reinforced concrete plate (RC plate) in the process of rehabilitation, i.e., to increase the load-carrying capacity of the deck for concentrated traffic loads. The steel decks may be orthotropic decks or also unstiffened steel plates, which during the rehabilitation are connected with the RC plate by shear studs, such developing an improved local load distribution by the joint behaviour of the two plate elements. Investigations carried out, both experimentally and numerically, were performed in order to quantitatively assess the combined static behaviour and to qualitatively verify the usability of the structure for dynamic loading. The paper reports on the testing, the numerical simulation as well as the comparison of the results. Conclusions drawn for practical design indicated that the static behaviour of these structures may be very efficient and can also be analysed numerically. Further, the results gave evidence of a highly robust behaviour under fatigue equivalent cyclic traffic loading.