Fatigue crack growth modelling of Fão Bridge puddle iron under variable amplitude loading

This study addresses the fatigue crack growth behaviour of a material from an old riveted steel bridge, the Portuguese Fão Bridge, based on an experimental program of constant and variable amplitude loading tests. The material under consideration is a centenary puddle iron, for which information on fatigue crack growth under variable amplitude loads is not available in the literature. Additionally, the experimental program aimed at analysing the fracture surfaces of the specimens through observations under Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), and correlate their characteristics with macroscopic fatigue crack growth behaviour. Furthermore, a crack closure analysis was performed using electrical strain gauges applied on the back face of the CT specimens. The fatigue crack propagation along the parallel to the rolling direction (L) revealed to be higher when compared with the transverse direction (T). The experimental data obtained in this study were compared with existing fatigue crack propagation models, such as the Paris model with linear damage accumulation, according to Miner’s rule, as well as with more complex crack propagation models, with capacity for modelling retardation effects of single overloads. The Paris model with linear damage accumulation, despite its simplicity, led to the best predictions for the generality of variable amplitude random block loading. The original Wheeler model is enough to correlate the crack propagation data under overloads, since the application of more sophisticated models would not be justified by the extremely high scatter observed in these old materials.