Statistical evaluation of fatigue strength of double shear riveted connections and crack growth rates of materials from old bridges

The combination of the S-N curves and Fracture Mechanics approaches can be used to evaluate the residual life of the old riveted metallic bridges. Thus, a statistical analysis and discussion of experimental fatigue crack propagation data available for materials from the ancient riveted metallic bridges are made. This analysis is important for the application of the Fracture Mechanics approaches to predict the residual life of structural details.