Fatigue assessment and strengthening measures to upgrade a steel railway bridge

The present paper deals with the experimental and analytical study of a 19th century riveted steel truss railway bridge to assess its current condition and remaining time of life. The analysis includes static and dynamic field measurements and laboratory tests. The evaluation of the capacity of the bridge for the trainloads, as well as for the seismic and wind loads, as specified by current design codes, was performed using a finite element model. Besides, after the owner's recent decision to upgrade the bridge to meet modern standards and new types of trains, the necessary strengthening was proposed, and the new estimation of the remaining fatigue life of the bridge after the suggested strengthening was also provided.

► The current condition and the remaining time of life of an existing steel bridge were examined.
► The visual inspection shown that the bridge was generally in compliance with the drawings.
► The performed analysis showed that the main trusses can carry the loads specified by the owner.
► Fatigue calculations showed that strengthening was required in the transverse main beams TMB.