Crack stop holes in steel bridge decks: Drilling method and effects

Force analysis using a compact tension model, as recommended by ASTM, was carried out on a crack stop hole. The stress before, and after, drilling the hole was compared in terms of stress concentration and stress gradient. The optimum drilling location and diameter were studied through analysis of d...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of Central South University 2017-10, Vol.24 (10), p.2372-2381
Main Authors: Fu, Zhong-qiu, Ji, Bo-hai, Xie, Shu-hui, Liu, Tian-jia
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Bridge decks
Compact tension
Concentration gradient
Crack propagation
Drilling
Engineering
Fatigue cracks
Fatigue failure
Fatigue tests
Horizontal orientation
Metallic Materials
Steel bridges
Stress concentration
Tool steels
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Summary:Force analysis using a compact tension model, as recommended by ASTM, was carried out on a crack stop hole. The stress before, and after, drilling the hole was compared in terms of stress concentration and stress gradient. The optimum drilling location and diameter were studied through analysis of different locations and diameters. By analyzing the effects of flank holes and an additional hole, drilling advice was proposed and fatigue testing of the cracks in a steel bridge deck with a crack stop hole was conducted. The results show that the stress at the crack tip with a crack stop hole decreased, and the major principal stress around the hole was distributed accordingly. The optimum position of the crack stop hole centre was where the centre of the crack stop hole was situated behind the crack and the hole edge coincided with the crack tip. Therefore, hole diameters larger than 8 mm, or those weakening the section by 10%, were suggested as the best diameters. In terms of multi-hole crack stopping, a flank hole was not recommended. The optimum horizontal position of flank holes was at a distance of 1/4 of a single hole diameter from, and in front of, the single hole. Besides, the experiment showed that crack stop hole could only prevent cracks from growing and had no influence on crack growth rate.
ISSN:2095-2899
2227-5223
DOI:10.1007/s11771-017-3649-8