Fatigue performance of a new type PSC girder

신형식 PSC거더의 피로 성능

Unlike metallic materials, the importance of fatigue performance of concrete has been ignored. However, it is reported that environmental effects, if it cause deterioration, may increase the risk of fatigue failure under repeated loadings. In case of railroad bridges, the risk may increase due to highly periodic, repetitive, heavier nature of train load, which runs through the fixed passage called the track. Especially, when new material or structure is implemented for a main bridge member, experimental validation should be performed to avoid damage or failure due to unexpected behavior. In this paper, the fatigue performance of an IT girder is examined via a repeated loading test. The IT girder is a new type of a prestressed concrete (PSC) girder with two prestressed H-beams in the top of the girder, which provide additional sectional capacity, and it can be applied to the span longer than 30m which is a typical limit for a usual PSC girder. To obtain the fatigue performance, a 10m IT girder specimen is designed, and a repeated load test is performed by applying the cyclic load two million times. The fatigue performance of the girder is examined according to the Japanese and the CEB-FIB design codes. The fatigue test result shows that the IT girder satisfies both design codes.