Proceedings of the 5th International Conference on Integrity-Reliability-Failure, Porto/Portugal 24-28 July 2016

Editors J.F. Silva Gomes and S.A. Meguid

Publ. INEGI/FEUP (2016)

PAPER REF: 6273

FATIGUE ASSESSMENT OF APPROACH VIADUCTS OF THE NEW

SADO RIVER RAILWAY CROSSING
G. Alencar1(*), R. Calada1, J.G.S. Silva2, A.M.P. Jesus1
1
Faculty of Engineering of University of Porto, FEUP, Porto, Portugal
2
Structural Engineering Department (ESTR), State University of Rio de Janeiro (UERJ), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
(*)
Email: guilherme.alencar@fe.up.pt

ABSTRACT
Fatigue analysis of steel and composite bridges under real traffic is usually performed using
numerical models of the structures, due to the difficulty of in situ monitoring of all the
structural details. The common assumption is that if the numerical model reproduces well the
real behaviour of the structure at some reference points, extrapolation of the results to other
points is reasonable. This paper investigates the different aspects of the fatigue analysis of
approach viaducts of the new Sado River railway crossing, in Portugal.

Keywords: Fatigue analysis, structural dynamics, steel and composite railway bridges.

INTRODUCTION
The fatigue analysis of steel-concrete composite bridges under real traffic is a challenging
task. In situ monitoring of all the details of the structure is not economically (and even
technically) feasible and thus, numerical models are usually employed for that analysis. It can
be assumed that the extrapolation of numerical model results to any point are accurate if the
numerical model reproduces well the real behaviour of the structural system, namely in some
reference points. This paper investigates the fatigue performance of the approach viaducts of
the new Sado River railway crossing, in Portugal, shown in Figure 1, in the context of a
research project on the in situ monitoring of railway steel bridge details. These approach
viaducts have a twin girder steel-concrete composite solution, which is a common design for
railway bridges with spans up to 65 m.

a) Overview. b) Steelwork detail.

Fig. 1 - Approach viaducts of the new Sado River railway crossing (REFER, 2010).

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To improve the knowledge on the fatigue prone details of the approach viaducts, in a
preliminary stage of this research project it is performed a numerical study using the Damage
Accumulation Method with nominal stresses obtained from a finite element model. The
Section 2 focuses on the bridge and its approach viaducts, while Section 3 performs a
description on the experimental work developed in a previous work with the aim of
characterize the real traffic (Albuquerque et al., 2012). Section 4 presents the numerical
model developed for the selected approach span. Finally, Section 5 presents some of the
results from the fatigue analysis which have been performed on the structure, according to the
EN 1993-1-9 (2005).

GENERAL DESIGN OF THE STEEL-CONCRETE COMPOSITE VIADUCTS

The new railway bridge over the Sado River, located in the Lisbon Algarve connection, in
Portugal, has a total length of 2.7 km. The north and south approach viaducts account together
for 2225 m and the main bridge over the river has a total length of 480 m. This crossing is
part of a railway project to improve the connections to the south and to the sea port of Sines
on the Atlantic coast. It is prepared for passenger trains running at speeds up to 250 km/h, as
the Alfa Pendular tilting train, and for freight trains. Figure 2 presents a photo of the overall
crossing, showing the approach viaducts and the main bridge.

Fig. 2 - Overview of the new Sado River railway crossing (Mouro, 2010).

The bridge is intended to accommodate two ballasted rail tracks, requiring a typical deck
width of 13 m, nevertheless only the upstream track is in operation at the current time. The
entire north viaduct (1115 m) and the main bridge (480 m) follow a straight alignment, while
the south viaduct includes a straight alignment over 175 m, from the transition pier at the
main bridge, followed by a curved alignment 800 m long and finally a 165 m long straight
section.
Over the Sado River, the steel-concrete composite solution includes a bowstring arch bridge
with a continuous deck 480 m long and three spans of 160 m each. The drawback of this
option, according to the designers (Reis et al., 2010), is the need to increase the deck width to
insert the arch and to protect it from accidental loads due to train derailment. Thus, at the
approach viaducts it is necessary to widen the deck, from 13 m typical width to 15.7 m, in
order to insert the arch on bridge axis. The transition between different deck widths occurs in

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only two spans of the approach viaducts, both in the north and the south. The superstructure
(steel girders and deck) of the others approach spans remains in a straight alignment.
To take into account track-structure interaction effects, the superstructure of approach
viaducts is divided into continuous bridge decks, as long as possible, separated by simply
supported neutral spans (GRID, 2006). Also, displacements due to temperature expansion
are minimized by adopting the neutral spans. This work focuses on the second neutral
span at the north side and near to the first bowstring arch of the main bridge (Figure 3), which
is a 45 m span consisting of a composite slab-girder deck.

Lisbon Algarve

45 m

Sado River

Fig. 3 - Side view of the selected neutral approach span.

The twin plate girders of this approach span are 2600 mm deep, as shown in Figure 4, with a
top flange 700 mm wide and a thickness that varies from 40 mm at support to 90 mm at span
sections. The lower flange is 1000 mm wide and its thickness varies from 60 mm at support to
120 mm at span sections. The web thickness varies from 25 mm at support to 16 mm at span
sections. The reinforced concrete slab (concrete grade C40/50 and steel reinforcement with
500 N/mm2 yield stress) acting in composite action with the steel part, varies in thickness
across the width, with a maximum of 40 cm on the bridge axis and a minimum of 20 cm at the
limits.
The structure comprises cross diaphragms and horizontal bracing all in the form of steel
trusses, as shown in Figure 5. The vertical truss diaphragms are spaced 7500 mm apart and
are made of circular hollow sections of 193.7 and 139.7 mm dia., both sections with 8 mm
wall thickness. The diaphragms near support sections at the piers are made of CHS of 193.7
mm dia., with 12 mm wall thickness due to the increased shear and torsion effects at these
locations (GRID, 2006).
At the level of the lower flange, horizontal bracing made from HEA 400 hot-rolled sections
are adopted, as illustrated in Figure 5, in order to provide an equivalent box section improving
the torsional deformability and torsional vibrations under eccentric railway traffic loads (Reis
et al., 2010; Rueda and Salcedo, 2012). The connections between the diaphragms and the
transverse stiffeners of the plate girders make use of grade 8.8 prestressed bolts (Reis et al.,
2010).

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 Topic_C: Fracture and Fatigue

1585
>257
100 167 225 225
200 225 100 225 125 125
25 50 25 100
83
20 60

1570 260

350 350

Fig. 4 - Typical wide cross section of the approach viaducts (units: centimetres).

The webs of the plate girders have transverse stiffeners made of IPE hot-rolled sections.
Between each diaphragm there is a transverse stiffener, resulting in a spacing of 3750 mm. An
additional transverse stiffener is inserted at the web panel adjacent to the piers in order to
increase the ultimate web resistance under shear (Reis et al., 2010). The entire steelwork of
this neutral approach span has a total of 150 tonnes with required improved toughness
properties against brittle fracture (min. 27 J at 50 C) in S355 steel grade.

100

web IPE400
var. thick.
HEA400 350

700

diaphragm
bracing
350

lower ch. 20mm

flange

100
375 187.5 187.5

750
Fig. 5 - Horizontal bracing and steelwork plan view detail (units: centimetres).

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According to the project authors (GRID, 2006; Reis et al., 2010), the design was developed
taking into consideration the Eurocodes for actions and for the design of steel and steel-
concrete composite bridges. Besides that, designers highlight that steel design at span sections
was mainly controlled by fatigue issues (Reis et al., 2010). Further information about the
bridge structure and its details can be found in Reis et al. (2010).

LONG-TERM MONITORING SYSTEM

In order to characterize the traffic, a long-term monitoring system was developed in a
previous work (Albuquerque et al., 2012; Albuquerque et al., 2013). Consequently, herein a
traffic characterization system is presented. A trigger system controls the amount of recorded
data. The acquisition system handles and stores the data, which is sent to FEUP, via a 3G
wireless connection, after a proper local treatment, as illustrated in Figure 6.

Fig. 6 - Long-term monitoring system (Albuquerque et al., 2012).

The traffic characterization system is performed both in qualitative and quantitative terms.
Qualitative information is provided by an IP Camera (Figure 7a) placed at one hanger of the
bridge (Figure 7b).
Quantitative information is provided by shear strain gages in the rails. These strain gages are
placed at 3 different sections of the rail (see Fig. 8). At each section, a full Wheatstone bridge
is installed. The principle of axle load measurement is based on proportionality between the
vertical load applied to the rail in the middle of two consecutive measurement sections and
the difference shear strain between them (Albuquerque et al., 2012).
The data is acquired and processed by the National Instruments cRIO-9024 and, then, stored
in a local disk and also sent, via a 3G connection, to a computer at FEUP. The long-term
monitoring system was applied, during a commissioning phase, in the load test, planned by
the Laboratrio Nacional de Engenharia Civil (LNEC).

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a) IP camera b) IP camera location

c) Alfa Pendular train d) Intercity train e) Freight train

Fig. 7 - Typical traffic (Albuquerque et al., 2012).

a) Location scheme b) Installation b) Protection

Fig. 8 - Strain gages in the rails (Albuquerque et al., 2012).

Three different types of vehicles were used to load the bridge: a single power engine machine
(PEM), a short freight train (SFT) and a long freight train (LFT). In the case of the PEM, the
axle loads where known with high accuracy. Therefore, they were used on the calibration of
the traffic characterization system. For each position, the corresponding values of the strains
were measured for all the strain gages.
In a service phase, the traffic was monitored for a real traffic scenario. At this railway line,
traffic is composed mainly by fast passenger trains, such as Alfa Pendular (see Fig. 7c), with
speeds up to 220 km/h, and heavy freight trains, proceeding from or to the sea port of Sines.
A very good agreement between the experimental and the numerical results was generally
found (Albuquerque et al., 2012). Despite of the installed traffic monitoring system on the
bridge, in the current work it will used the Eurocode fatigue standard traffic in a preliminary
stage.

FINITE ELEMENT MODEL

Herein the finite element numerical model of the investigated neutral span of the approach
viaducts is presented. The global model of the structural system was developed within the
ANSYS (2013) software, using the ANSYS Parametric Design Language (APDL). In the
numerical model, the concrete deck, the girder steel plates and the transverse stiffeners were

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modelled by shell finite elements (SHELL181). The steel sections of the diaphragms, the
ballast retaining walls and the rails were modelled by beam elements (BEAM44) positioned at
the corresponding centres of gravity. The sleepers, rail pads and ballast layer were modelled
by solid elements (SOLID185).
Rigid link elements (MPC184) were introduced to connect the nodes of the slab to the bottom
of the ballast and to the girders top flange, in order to ensure the compatibility of
displacements and rotations between these nodes. After some sensitivity analysis, an average
mesh dimension of 0.5 m was adopted, with a fine mesh near to the transverse stiffeners,
resulting in a mesh with variable spacing along the deck.
Nodal mass elements (MASS21) were used to reproduce the self-weight of the inoperative
railway track and the non-structural components along the deck, such as the guardrails and the
sidewalk pavement. In order to equally distribute the mass values over an irregular mesh, an
APDL routine was created to compute the influence area of each node in the slab. Therefore,
the final finite element model resulted in a total of 23,592 nodes, 39,243 elements and
141,552 degrees of freedom. The isometric views, the cross section and the side view of the
numerical model with all mentioned elements are presented in Figure 9.

a) Isometric view b) Cross section at support

c) Side view

d) Railway track detail e) Detailed view

Fig. 9 - Overview of the finite element numerical model of the selected neutral approach span.

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A relevant number of vibration modes were reviewed, namely vertical bending and torsion of
the deck. Figure 10 presents the three main global vibration mode shapes of the approach
viaduct obtained by a modal analysis with ANSYS (2013).

a) f01 = 2,60 Hz b) f02 = 3,05 Hz c) f03 = 3,63 Hz

Fig. 10 - Main global vibration mode shapes from the numerical model.

It must be emphasized that, in the dynamic analysis performed in the subsequent sections, a
typical value of 0.5 % for the damping ratio was used for all vibration modes, as
recommended for steel-concrete composite bridges by EN 1991-2 (2003). In Table 1, the
information on the frequency and damping ratios of some vibration modes is summarized.

Table 1 - Frequencies and damping ratios of the numerical vibration modes.

Mode Numerical Natural Damping

Description
number Frequency (Hz) (%)
1 2.60 0.5 Global vertical bending mode
2 3.05 0.5 Global torsion mode
3 3.63 0.5 Global torsion mode
5 5.47 0.5 Local bending mode of the concrete slab
33 14.28 0.5 Local bending mode of the concrete slab
35 14.74 0.5 Local vibration mode of the diaphragms
109 30.70 0.5 Local vibration mode of one web panel

PROPOSED METHODOLOGY FOR FATIGUE ANALYSIS

In railway bridges the existing stress amplitudes on structural details occurs owing to the
passage of trains, causing fatigue damage. In this paper, it was used a general procedure based
on the Damage Accumulation Method (DAM), as prescribed in EN 1993-1-9 (2005) for
fatigue analysis of structures subjected to variable-amplitude loading. According to
Nussbaumer et al. (2011) and Sousa et al. (2013) this methodology involves the following
analysis steps:
- definition of the traffic scenario (train types, frequent operating speeds and annual traffic
volume);
- calculation of the stress history in critical structural details, including the effects of
dynamic magnification of structural response;
- calculation of stress histograms, representing the number of cycles versus the
corresponding distribution of stress ranges, by using a cycle counting algorithm, e.g. the
rainflow algorithm (ASTM E1049 - 85, 2005; ESDEP, 1995);

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- adoption of suitable SN curves to describe the fatigue resistance of the detail; the curves
proposed by the EN 1993-1-9 (2005) are employed; moreover, for a safe life assessment
with high consequences of failure, the standard recommends that the fatigue strength
reduction factor, Mf, should be taken as 1.35;
- computation of the fatigue damage, by using a linear damage accumulation model, as
proposed by Miner (1945), according to which the damage factor, D, is given by:
k
n1 n2 n3 n
D= + + + ... = i 1.0 (1)
N1 N 2 N 3 i =1 N i

where ni is the number of applied load cycles for a given stress range and Ni denotes the
number of resisting load cycles for a given stress range. Fatigue failure is reached for D = 1.
In this numerical study, the main assumption of the referred methodology is to presume as
nominal stresses the stresses obtained from a finite element model at some specific points,
related to detail categories used to determine the corresponding SN curve.
It is important to highlight that for railway bridges dynamic analyses shall be carried out in
the case of high-speed traffic, i.e., when the Maximum Permitted Vehicle Speed exceeds 200
km/h (EN 1991-2, 2003). Proper models shall be also used for the distribution of the axle
forces through the rails, sleepers and ballast. Finally, the fatigue life estimation, in years, is
given by the inverse of the damage factor for 1 year of traffic.

Identification and Classification of Fatigue Prone Details

A crucial stage of the fatigue analysis is the identification and classification of structures
fatigue prone details. Herein, this classification is based on the available design and
construction information (GRID, 2006; REFER, 2010; Reis et al., 2011). Figure 11 presents a
3D modelling of the approach span steelwork, with the identification of the fatigue prone
details, and the corresponding classification according to a number which represents its
fatigue resistance for 2 million cycles (C). The common direction of the nominal stress is
also indicated. Figure 12 shows a more detailed view of the fatigue details, with the
corresponding SN curve. Thus, the most relevant fatigue structural details are described
below:
- Category 80 (Figure 12a): Vertical stiffeners made of IPE 400 hot-rolled sections
welded to the lower flange. The nominal stresses are obtained in the lower flange as the
maximum normal stress in the longitudinal direction;
- Category 71 (Figure 12b): Longitudinal butt web in the lower flanges with a cope hole in
the web; The nominal stresses are obtained in the same manner as Category 80;
- Category 63 (Figure 12c): A tube-plate joint, with the tube notched and welded to plate.
The end of the tube is cut in a normal angle and welded to thin plates used as covering.
The nominal stresses are obtained from the normal forces acting on the diaphragms;
- Category 56 (Figure 12d): Longitudinal plates welded to the web girder and bolted to the
HEA 400 hot-rolled sections used as horizontal bracing. The nominal stresses are
obtained in the web girder as the maximum normal stress in the longitudinal direction.

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 Topic_C: Fracture and Fatigue

80

56

71
63

Fig. 11 - Approach viaduct steelwork with the identification of fatigue prone details.

1000
80 Mf = 1.35
Mf = 1.00
log R (MPa)

100
80 D
L

10
1.E+04 1.E+05 1.E+06 1.E+07 1.E+08 1.E+09
log N
a) Fatigue structural detail category 80
1000
71
log R (MPa)

100
71
D
L

10
1.E+04 1.E+05 1.E+06 1.E+07 1.E+08 1.E+09
log N
b) Fatigue structural detail category 71
Fig. 12 - Fatigue structural details, SN curves and classification according to EN 1993-1-9 (2005).

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 Proceedings of the 5th International Conference on Integrity-Reliability-Failure

1000
63

log R (MPa)
100
63
D
L

10
1.E+04 1.E+05 1.E+06 1.E+07 1.E+08 1.E+09
log N
c) Fatigue structural detail category 63
1000
56
log R (MPa)

100
56
D
L

10
1.E+04 1.E+05 1.E+06 1.E+07 1.E+08 1.E+09
log N
d) Fatigue structural detail category 56

Fig. 12 - Fatigue structural details, SN curves and classification according to EN 1993-1-9, 2005 (continued)

Fatigue and Dynamic Analysis

In fatigue analyses, traffic effects are represented by means of 12 Fatigue Trains (FT1 to
FT12) as specified by the EN 1991-2 (2003). In this work, dynamic analyses were performed
for Fatigue Trains with speed higher than 200 km/h (FT3 and FT4). On the other hand, for the
remaining Fatigue Trains, static analyses were performed with a dynamic enhancement of
1+('+''), which is sufficiently accurate for the purpose of calculating fatigue damage
caused by trains with speed up to 200 km/h, according to the Annex D of the referred
standard.
During this numerical study, among all the analysed details, the higher stress ranges were
obtained for the longitudinal plate detail, C = 56 MPa, welded to the girder below the
current active track in the second horizontal bracing connection, as illustrated in Figure 11
and Figure 12d. Therefore, one presents in Figure 13 the time history analyses for the
structural detail 56. In the curves below, each graph corresponds to one Standard Fatigue
Train crossing.
As indicated in Figure 13, the higher stress range is obtained for the Standard Fatigue Train 5.
Moreover, the structural detail 56, used in the connection of the horizontal bracing to the web
girder, also revealed to be the most critical to fatigue. The stress histograms for each train
crossing, representing the number of cycles versus the corresponding distribution of stress
ranges, are shown in Figure 14. The stress distribution showing the normal stresses in the
longitudinal direction at the structural detail 56 are also represented in Figure 15.

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 Topic_C: Fracture and Fatigue

Fatigue Train 1 Fatigue Train 2 Fatigue Train 3

60 60 40
45 45 30

(MPa)

(MPa)
(MPa)

20
30 30
10
15 15 0
0 0 -10
0.0 1.0 2.0 3.0 4.0 5.0 0.0 1.0 2.0 3.0 4.0 5.0 6.0 7.0 0.0 1.0 2.0 3.0 4.0 5.0 6.0
Time (s) Time (s) Time (s)

Fatigue Train 4 Fatigue Train 5 Fatigue Train 6

40 60 60
30 45
45
(MPa)

(MPa)
(MPa)

20
30 30
10
0 15 15
-10 0 0
0.0 1.0 2.0 3.0 4.0 0.0 2.0 4.0 6.0 8.0 10.0 12.0 14.0 0.0 2.0 4.0 6.0 8.0 10.0 12.0 14.0
Time (s) Time (s) Time (s)

Fatigue Train 6 Fatigue Train 6 Fatigue Train 9

60 60 60
45 45 45
(MPa)

(MPa)

(MPa)

30 30 30
15 15 15
0 0 0
0.0 2.0 4.0 6.0 8.0 10.0 12.0 14.0 0.0 2.0 4.0 6.0 8.0 10.0 12.0 14.0 0.0 1.0 2.0 3.0 4.0 5.0
Time (s) Time (s) Time (s)

Fatigue Train 10 Fatigue Train 11 Fatigue Train 12

60 60 60
45 45 45
(MPa)

(MPa)

(MPa)

30 30 30
15 15 15
0 0 0
0.0 1.0 2.0 3.0 4.0 5.0 0.0 1.0 2.0 3.0 4.0 5.0 6.0 7.0 0.0 1.0 2.0 3.0 4.0 5.0 6.0 7.0 8.0 9.0
Time (s) Time (s) Time (s)

Fig. 13 - Stress histories for the structural detail 56 due to the Standard Fatigue Trains.

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Fatigue Train 1 Fatigue Train 1 Fatigue Train 3

12 12 40
31
Cycles (ni)

Cycles (ni)

Cycles (ni)
8 8 30
8 8
20
4 2 4 2 10
1.5 1 1.5 1 2 2 3 3 1 1 1 0.50.5
0 0 0
1 2 3 31 1 2 3 31 1 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 15 19
R (MPa) R (MPa) R (MPa)

Fatigue Train 4 Fatigue Train 5 Fatigue Train 6

30 60 12
Cycles (ni)

Cycles (ni)
21.5

Cycles (ni)
20 40 8
22.5
10 4 20 13 4 2.5 2
1 1.5 2 1.5 1 1 0.50.5 1 1 1 1 1
1
0 0 0
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 10 15 17 1 2 49 1 3 10 15 16 18 37
R (MPa) R (MPa) R (MPa)

Fatigue Train 7 Fatigue Train 8 Fatigue Train 9

12 60 12
Cycles (ni)

Cycles (ni)

Cycles (ni)
8 33.5
8 40 8
4 20 4 3
1 1 2.5 1 1
1 1
0 0 0
1 2 4 36 1 34 1 2 3 15
R (MPa) R (MPa) R (MPa)

Fatigue Train 10 Fatigue Train 11 Fatigue Train 11

12 12 12
Cycles (ni)

Cycles (ni)

Cycles (ni)

8.5
8 8 8
5 5
4 4 3 4 3
1 0.5 1 1 0.5 1 1
0 0 0
1 18 1 3 4 5 37 1 3 4 5 37
R (MPa) R (MPa) R (MPa)

Fig. 14 - Rainflow cycles counting results.

-50 -37 -25 -13 0 11 24 49 (MPa)

a) Normal stress distribution b) Shell finite elements mesh

Fig. 15 - Normal stresses for Fatigue Train 5 in the structural detail 56.

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Fatigue Damage
Three standard mixes of rail traffic are given as a basis for calculating the fatigue life
estimation of structures, depending on whether the structure carries standard traffic mix,
predominantly heavy traffic or light traffic (EN 1991-2, 2003). Each traffic scenario is
defined in terms of an annual traffic tonnage of 25x106 tonnes with variety and number of
Standard Fatigue Trains per day on each track. Thus, the damage values associated with an
isolated passage of each train were combined, in order to obtain the damages in a lifespan
period of 100 years for different traffic mixes (see Tables 2 to 4).

Table 2 - Fatigue damage for standard traffic mix scenario

Standard Traffic Mix
Train Vehicle Speed Number of Damage per
Annual Damage
type (km/h) trains/day Crossing
1 200 12 2.0869E-07 9.1404E-04
2 160 12 4.8201E-08 2.1112E-04
3 250 5 9.2717E-09 1.6921E-05
4 250 5 5.3166E-09 9.7028E-06
5 80 7 8.2413E-07 2.1057E-03
6 100 12 3.6897E-07 1.6161E-03
7 120 8 3.2682E-07 9.5433E-04
8 100 6 2.7532E-07 6.0296E-04
Total: 6.4308E-03

Table 3 - Fatigue damage for heavy traffic mix scenario

Heavy traffic mix
Train Vehicle Speed Number of Damage per
Annual Damage
type (km/h) trains/day Crossing
5 80 6 8.2413E-07 1.8048E-03
6 100 13 3.6897E-07 1.7508E-03
11 120 16 3.5482E-07 2.0722E-03
12 100 16 3.2682E-07 1.9087E-03
Total: 7.5365E-03

Table 4 - Fatigue damage for light traffic mix scenario

Light traffic mix
Train Vehicle Speed Number of Damage per
Annual Damage
type (km/h) trains/day Crossing
1 200 10 2.0869E-07 7.6170E-04
2 160 5 4.8201E-08 8.7968E-05
5 80 2 8.2413E-07 6.0161E-04
9 120 190 0.0000E+00 0.0000E+00
Total: 1.4513E-03

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Considering the numerical results presented at Tables 2 to 4, it is possible to conclude that: i)

the Standard Fatigue Train which produces the greater damage is the FT5, a locomotive-
hauled freight train; ii) the traffic scenario with maximum total damage is the heavy traffic
mix; iii) the damage induced by FT3 and FT4 is negligible and by FT9 is null, since there are
few or none stress range cycles due to these trains higher than the design cut-off limit (L =
17 MPa).
The log -log N design curve of structural detail 56 is illustrated in Figure 16, with a double
inclination as specified by EN 1993-1-9 (2005), to take into account the effect of variable
amplitude-loading on the fatigue damage. As can be seen in the graph below, with the points
corresponding to each Fatigue Train for different traffic mixes, the number of cycles
associated with stress ranges higher than the cut-off limit is very low.

1000
log R (MPa)

100

10
2.E+02 2.E+03 2.E+04 2.E+05 2.E+06 2.E+07 2.E+08
log N
light traffic heavy traffic standard mix

Fig. 16 - Stress spectrum against SN Curve for different traffic mixes.

Also, as shown in Figure 17, in all cases the annual damage obtained is much lower than unity
for the three traffic scenarios (heavy, standard and light). Therefore, the most conditioning
traffic scenario, which is the heavy traffic mix, leads to an annual fatigue damage of 0.0075,
and consequently to a structure fatigue life estimation of 133 years.

0.008
0.007
Annual Damage

0.006
0.005
0.004
0.003
0.002
0.001
0
Heavy traffic mix Standard Traffic Mix Light traffic mix

Traffic Scenario

Fig. 17- Fatigue damage at the critical detail for different traffic scenarios.

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Impact of Global and Local Modes in Total Dynamic Response

Each mode of vibration of the selected neutral approach span has its own impact on total
dynamic response of the structure. In order to compute the contribution of higher frequency
modes to the stress response at the critical detail, with the crossing of the most conditioning
Fatigue Train, the total response was decomposed into some of its different components
through a dynamic mode superposition analysis, as shown in Figure 18a.

3
40
35 2.5
30 f01 = 2,60 Hz
2
25 Mode 1 (2.60 Hz)

Amplitude
(MPa)

20 Mode 2 (3.05 Hz)

1.5
Mode 3 (3.63 Hz)
15
Mode 35 (14.74 Hz)
1
10 Mode 109 (30.7 Hz)
5 Total 0.5
0
0
-5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14
Frequency (Hz)
Time (s)
a) Stress history in structural detail 56 b) Fourier transform response of first mode

Fig. 18 - Contribution of different vibration modes to the total response.

The total dynamic response of Figure 18a reveals that, at the critical detail zone, only the first
three global vibration modes with frequencies up to 3.63 Hz are expressive to the total stress
range. The local vibration mode of diaphragms (Mode 35) yields to a low contribution of 2
MPa, while local vibration modes of the concrete slab and higher frequencies modes of the
steel web, such as Mode 109 are considered negligible to the total dynamic response of the
investigated structure.
In the component associated with the Mode 1, f01 = 2.60 Hz, it was observed a low resonance
effect, also confirmed by the Fourier Transform of the signal (Figure 12b). This is related to
an axle spacing between wagons of the FT5 equal to 4 m (Figure 19), in combination with a
speed of 80 km/h, considering the first integer submultiple (80/3.6/4/2 = 2.78 Hz).
It must be emphasized that the maximum stress obtained through a dynamic mode
superposition analysis (34 MPa) is different from that obtained through a static moving load
analysis with dynamic enhancement (49 MPa). Moreover, since the dynamic properties of the
Fatigue Train 5 are unknown, the train-track-bridge interaction and the track irregularities
were not considered in this dynamic analysis.

6x225 kN 6x225 kN 6x225 kN 6x225 kN 6x225 kN

11x(6x225 kN)

2.1 4.4 2.1 1.8 5.7 1.8 1.8 5.7 1.8 1.8 5.7 1.8 1.8 5.7 1.8

2.0 2.1 2.1 2.0 1.8 1.8 2.0 1.8 1.8 2.0 1.8 1.8 2.0 1.8 1.8 2.0
2.0 2.0 2.0 2.0
16.8 16.9 16.9 16.9 16.9 11x16.9

Fig. 19 - Arrangement of the Standard Fatigue Train 5 axle loads (EN 1991-2, 2003).

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 Proceedings of the 5th International Conference on Integrity-Reliability-Failure

CONCLUSIONS
The steel-concrete composite approach viaducts of new Sado River railway crossing are under
study concerning its fatigue behaviour. In this kind of analysis, the finite element model of the
structure is a very important tool. Nevertheless, it is important to assure that the developed
numerical model reproduces well the response of the real structure.
In the present work, a fatigue analysis on selected structural details of one neutral span of
the approach viaducts has been carried out. The main conclusions of this research work can be
summarized as follows:
- The railway traffic characterization made on previous works reveals to be very useful,
because it enables the extrapolation of the results to other points of the structure. Future
research into the fatigue behaviour of the railway viaducts over the River Sado will take
into account monitored real traffic;
- The detailed level of the structure finite element model allowed for fatigue analyses in
different points of the structure and for different traffic scenarios;
- The most critical detail was that on the longitudinal plate welded to the web girder below
the current active rail track. This plate is used in the connection of horizontal bracings of
the structural system, which are very important to improve the torsional deformability
and torsional vibrations under eccentric railway traffic loads. Therefore, it leads to
conclude that normal forces on horizontal bracings may introduce important normal
stresses on the web girder. For that detail, the worst loading case was the crossing of the
Standard Fatigue Train 5;
- According to the Damage Accumulation Method low damage levels were found.
Therefore, the assessment of the numerical results obtained through FE analyses revealed
that the fatigue design of the investigated neutral span is on the safe side;
- The global vibration modes, with lower frequencies, are the most determinant to the total
response of the investigated approach span at the critical detail;
- Local approaches to fatigue will in the future applied to the critical location detected in
this paper. Also, multiaxiality of the stress histories will be investigated.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Support from the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development, CNPq,
Brazil, through a research project related to evaluation of structural performance and dynamic
response monitoring of bridges is gratefully acknowledged. Support from the research team
on High-Speed Rail field of Faculty of Engineering of University of Porto is also gratefully
acknowledged.

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