Static and fatigue performance of the bolt-connected structural jointed of deep corrugated steel plate member

Abstract

Corrugated steel plate culvert bridge has been more commonly used as soil steel bridges because it is the cost-effective alternative for railway-highway crossings. The corrugated steel plate culvert bridge is considered the most suitable for quick rebuilding of bridges compared with the conventional bridges. This study intends to experimentally investigate the static and fatigue performance of the bolted connection of deep corrugated steel plate. Test variables are the thickness of deep corrugated steel plate and the types of bolted connection such as bolted-only, gasket, slot hole, and washer. For static test, the failure is mainly caused by a local buckling of deep corrugated steel plate member and bearing failure of bolts. Type of gasket and slot hole showed the largest stiffness so that they may be recommended for structural safety and redundancy under a static flexural behavior. For fatigue test, the bolted-only specimen exhibited no increase in the strain until failure and the highest fatigue life among the test variables. For structural safety under cyclic loading, bolted-only connection is recommended. According to AASHTO LRFD Bridge Design Specification, fatigue life category can be determined as category D level and the fatigue limit was estimated to be 48.3 MPa. The deep corrugated steel plate members tested in this study can provide a sufficient fatigue performance in compliance with the design specification.