Impact of fatigue damage from overloads on bridge life-cycle cost analysis

Abstract

 Life-cycle cost analyses are often considered in bridge management in conjunction with the decision-making process for bridge maintenance, rehabilitation, or replacement. An accurate estimate for these costs requires a better understanding, and proper modeling of, deterioration rate of a bridge’s components throughout its useful time. In considering the deterioration rate in bridge life-cycle cost analysis and management, special attention will need to be paid in regard to the potential for accelerated fatigue damage that can occur because of frequent use of overloads. Overloads and their potential for fatigue damage may in fact become a major cost item in the bridge overall life-cycle cost. In this study, an index representing the fatigue life expended (FLE) due to overloads is introduced and used as a driving factor in the deterioration curve to incorporate the significance of fatigue damage from overloads in the decision-making strategies in maintenance and rehabilitation and in bridge management.