Strain-life and crack propagation fatigue data from several Portuguese old metallic riveted bridges

Fatigue failures are of concern for steel bridges due to the likelihood of the steel to deteriorate under variable stresses. Residual life calculations of existing bridges in operation should take into account fatigue as a progressive damaging mechanism. A consistent residual life prediction should be based on actual fatigue data from bridge members to assess. This paper presents strain-life and crack propagation fatigue data obtained using samples of original material removed from five Portuguese metallic riveted bridges. While four of the analysed bridges are centenaries, the younger bridge is little more than 50 years old which is likely one of the last metallic bridges built in Portugal using the riveting technology. Besides the fatigue properties, the monotonic and cyclic elastoplastic properties are assessed for the samples of materials. From the analysis of the results it is clear that the older materials are puddle iron, a precursor of the modern construction steels, the latter being used in the younger bridge. The generated data is essential for residual fatigue life estimations considering both crack initiation and propagation phases, respectively in the framework of Local Approaches to fatigue and Linear Elastic Fracture Mechanics.