Fatigue Performance of Stringer-to-Floor-Beam Connections

in Riveted Railway Bridges

Mohammad Al-Emrani1

Abstract: The behavior of double-angle stringer-to-floor-beam connections in riveted railway bridges is examined experimentally. A
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series of static and fatigue tests were performed on three full-scale bridge parts taken from an old riveted railway bridge. The results of
the static tests reveal that the amount of end moment developed in these connections as a result of their rotational stiffness could be
considerable. As a result of the cyclic variation in this moment, fatigue damage might develop in these connections. This damage was,
however, observed to have a fairly low propagation rate and did not immediately reduce the load-carrying function of the connections.
DOI: 10.1061/共ASCE兲1084-0702共2005兲10:2共179兲
CE Database subject headings: Bridge decks; Bridges, railroad; Connections, semi-rigid; Rivets; Fatigue; Distortion.

Introduction
The residual life of old riveted steel bridges has been the subject
of increasing concern for bridge owners all over the world. The
considerable age of these bridges and the escalating need for
heavier freight trains and higher traffic intensity all give rise to
several questions relating to the fatigue performance of these old
structures. Research work conducted in this field has mainly fo-
cused on the fatigue performance of primary bridge members
because of the vitality of these members to the load-carrying
function of the bridge. However, experience has shown that the
connections between different primary and secondary members of
these bridges are often more critical with reference to fatigue. In
most cases, the driving mechanism behind fatigue damage in
these connections is applied deformation, which is repeated cycli-
cally. Unintended interaction between the connected members,
together with unanticipated or otherwise overlooked connection
stiffness, might result in the connections being subjected to re-
straint forces that are not taken into account in design. In addition,
these joints and connections are often points of stress concentra-
tion and abrupt changes in stiffness, which make them more sen-
sitive to the development of fatigue cracking. Inadequate design
assumptions and poor detailing have also contributed in some
cases to the unsatisfactory fatigue strength of some connections.
One of the most common types of fatigue damage in the
above-mentioned category is that found in stringer-to-floor-beam
connections in riveted bridges. In an open-deck riveted railway
bridge, these connections are typically made using double angles
riveted to both the stringer and the floor-beam webs.
The primary load-carrying function of these connections is to
1 complex behavior. In fact, aspects of particular concern for a
Assistant Professor, Dept. of Structural Engineering and Mechanics,
Chalmers Univ. of Technology, SE-412 96 Göteborg, Sweden. E-mail:
mohammad.alemrani@ste.chalmers.se
Note. Discussion open until August 1, 2005. Separate discussions
must be submitted for individual papers. To extend the closing date by
one month, a written request must be filed with the ASCE Managing
Editor. The manuscript for this paper was submitted for review and pos-
sible publication on March 19, 2002; approved on August 24, 2003. This
paper is part of the Journal of Bridge Engineering, Vol. 10, No. 2,
March 1, 2005. ©ASCE, ISSN 1084-0702/2005/2-179–185/$25.00.
transfer the stringer-end reaction to the floor beams, and it has
been common engineering practice to design them with reference
to the corresponding shear forces only. However, in order to en-
sure sufficient shear-load capacity in these double-angle connec-
tions, it is often unavoidable that the connections also acquire a
certain degree of rotational stiffness. Some moment will conse-
quently develop in these connections as a result of the restraint
they impose on the stringer-end rotation associated with bending.
The magnitude of this moment does not generally have a decisive
effect on the ultimate 共static兲 load-carrying capacity of the con-
nections. It might, on the other hand, induce such high local
stresses in the different components of the connection, which if
repeated a sufficient number of times might result in fatigue-crack
development in these connections.
A relatively large number of damage cases have been reported
for stringer-to-floor-beam connections in riveted steel bridges
共Fisher et al. 1987; Wang 1990; Al-Emrani 2000兲. These damage
cases have involved either cracking in the outstanding legs of the
connection angles or crack development in the rivets connecting
the outstanding legs to the floor-beam web, eventually resulting in
the heads of these rivets popping off. In spite of this and the fact
that problems related to the fatigue performance of riveted
stringer-to-floor-beam connections have been recognized for a
long time, research work performed in this field is fairly scarce.
Almost all the fatigue tests performed in relation to this prob-
lem have been conducted on small-scale T-stub connections
loaded in tension 共Wilson and Coombe 1939; Wang 1990兲. Al-
though they produce valuable results relating to the fatigue life of
riveted double-angle connections 共in terms of the number of
cycles to crack initiation兲, these tests do not involve the actual
forces acting on these connections, nor do they reflect their true
bridge owner, such as possible damage modes and expected dam-
age locations, the rate at which the damage is expected to de-
velop, and the residual load-carrying capacity of the damaged
connections, can generally only be studied using large-scale test
specimens comprising all the members and components involved
in the response of these connections. This investigation therefore
aims to contribute to a more comprehensive understanding of the
complex behavior involved in the fatigue performance of these

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J. Bridge Eng. 2005.10:179-185.


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Fig. 1. Old riveted railway bridge over River Vindelälven in
Sweden—Three tested specimens were taken from one of side spans
of bridge
double-angle connections, using the practical observations ob-
tained from full-scale fatigue tests of this kind.
Full-Scale Testing Program
Description of Test Specimens and Testing Procedure
Static and fatigue tests were conducted on three full-scale bridge
parts taken from an old riveted railway bridge. The bridge, which
had three simply supported, arch-shaped truss spans 共of 71.2 m
each兲, was built in 1896 and demolished in 1993. All three speci-
mens were taken from the same span with their original location
as shown in Fig. 1. Each test specimen consisted of three floor
beams and four stringers connected to each other with riveted
double angles. Sway- and cross-bracing elements that connected
each pair of stringers accompanied each specimen, as did the
remaining parts of the lower wind bracing, which were riveted to
the lower flanges of the stringers. Fig. 2 shows the dimensions of
the built-up stringers and floor beams, together with a detail of the
double-angle connections between them.
Tension tests had previously been performed on specimens
obtained from stringers taken from the same bridge, as well as on
nine rivets taken from the flange connections in these stringers
共Åkesson 1994兲. The average values for the yield stress and ten-
sile strength of the stringer material were 278 and 425 MPa, re-
Fig. 2. Detail of stringer-to-floor-beam connections in tested
specimens
180 / JOURNAL OF BRIDGE ENGINEERING © ASCE / MARCH/APRIL 2005
J. Bridge Eng. 2005.10:179-185.
Fig. 3. Test setup and overall dimensions of tested specimens
spectively, with an elongation at fracture of 35.2%. The corre-
sponding values for the rivet material were 355 and 466 MPa and
25.1%, respectively.
In order to obtain the continuity effect that exists in the floor
system of the bridge, the test specimen was supported at three
pairs of bearing points, each positioned under a floor beam, where
the stringers meet the floor beam 共Fig. 3兲. The loads were pro-
vided by four hydraulic jacks, each placed at the center line of a
stringer. In order to simulate the effect of a train passage, the
force produced by each hydraulic jack was transferred to the
stringer as two point loads via a distribution beam, resulting in
each stringer being loaded in four-point bending.
All three specimens were tested at the same load range, Pr
= 100 kN. The corresponding maximum and minimum loads per
hydraulic jack were 180 and 80 kN, respectively. Specimen I was
loaded with 5 million cycles, while the loading of specimens II
and III was continued to 8 and 10 million cycles, respectively.
Static tests were performed both before and during the course of
fatigue testing on each specimen in order to follow the effect of
fatigue-damage development on the behavior of the specimen.
During these static tests, strain measurements were made to
register bending and axial stresses in the stringers and some of the
secondary members, as well as the local strain in the angles of the
connections and in some of their fasteners. Furthermore, both the
midspan deflection of the stringers and the local deformation in
the connection angles were also registered.
A number of rivet failures had been observed in the connec-
tions of the bridge during its service life, but no fatigue cracking
in the connection angles was reported. However, an inspection of
specimens II and III prior to testing revealed that some of the
connection angles already contained fatigue cracks at the fillet of
the upper part of the angles. These cracks were 10 to 20 mm long
and could only be seen when the specimens were under fatigue
loading and after the thick layer of paint on the angles had been
removed. In Specimen I, the paint on the connection angles was
removed after about 200,000 loading cycles and several cracks
could then be detected, some of which were as much as 60 mm in
length.
As the cracks in the outstanding legs of the connection angles
are induced by the tensile stress generated by the flexure of the
angles, the cracks are only surface cracks at the early stages of
their development, with very limited deformation 共crack opening兲
due to the fluctuating loads.
Connection Stiffness and Resulting Stringer-End
Moment
One of the main objectives of the static tests performed prior to
fatigue loading was to obtain information about the rotational
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Fig. 5. Out-of-plane distortion of outstanding legs of connection

angles due to applied stringer-end rotation 共␸兲

Fig. 4. Moment-load curves derived from measured bending stresses is to subject the outstanding legs at the top of the connection to an
at midspan of stringers for three tested specimens out-of-plane flexure, causing bending and axial stresses in the
angles and the rivets, respectively 共Fig. 5兲.
The amount of restraint provided by the connections, the re-
stiffness of the double-angle connections and the moment that sulting end moment, and the associated built-in forces and
develops in these connections as a result of this stiffness. stresses will therefore depend on the amount of applied deforma-
Fig. 4 shows some typical moment-load curves obtained from tion that can be accommodated by the flexural flexibility of the
these static tests. The values for stringer-end moment were de- outstanding legs.
rived from the bending stresses measured at the midspan of the Referring back to Fig. 4, the stringer-to-floor-beam connec-
four stringers in each specimen. It is obvious that the specimens tions in the tested specimens typically displayed some nonlinear
behave as partially continuous two-span girders with negative behaviour 共although to a rather limited extent兲. In the case of
moment at the central floor beam. For beams of this kind, the specimens I and II, some “softening” behavior could be observed,
degree of continuity, ␣, can be derived as while Specimen III displayed slightly “hardening” characteristics
at higher load levels.
Mp 1 One of the main reasons for the nonlinear softening character-
␣= = 共1兲 istics of double-angle beam connections in general is the occur-
Mf 1 + R
rence of plastic deformation in these connections. Although the
where measured strain at various locations in the connections of the
tested specimens was generally below the elastic limit of the ma-
共3EI/L兲stringer terial, the possibility that plastic deformation of this kind took
R= 共2兲
Krot place in local areas of stress concentration cannot be totally ex-
cluded 共in fact, some of the measured flexural stresses in the
where M p⫽moment at central support of partially continuous vicinity of the fillet of the outstanding legs were close to the yield
two-span girder; M f ⫽moment at central support of fully continu- stress of the material兲. Nevertheless, it is obvious from the load-
ous two-span girder; and Krot⫽rotational stiffness of each double- moment curves in Fig. 4 that the nonlinear behavior of these
angle stringer-to-floor-beam connection. connections starts at a fairly early stage of loading. This indicates
Table 1 summarizes the results obtained for the three tested that other 共or additional兲 factors may have caused this behavior.
specimens. The restraint provided by the stringer-to-floor-beam Fatigue cracks in some of the connection angles and the presence
connections is substantial. These double-angle “shear” connec- of the clamping force in the rivets could be two such factors that
tions were capable of developing up to 67% of the corresponding contribute to overall nonlinear softening behavior.
moment of a fully continuous beam! Another source of nonlinearity in the behavior of mechanically
The rotational stiffness of the double-angle connections is pri- fastened double-angle connections is the presence of various “me-
marily a function of the flexural stiffness of the outstanding legs chanical imperfections” between different components in the con-
of the connection angles. The effect of the deformation applied to nection, such as initial gaps, misfit, and out-of-straightness con-
the connections 共by stringer-end rotation associated with bending兲 ditions. Fig. 6 shows the results of displacement measurements
performed at the bottom of the connection angles in Specimen III.
The flexural stresses measured in the outstanding legs of the
Table 1. Connection Stiffness, Degree-of-Continuity and Stringer-End angles at the same location are also shown for specimens I and III
Moments Calculated for Thress Specimens at Load Corresponding to for comparison. The results suggest a small gap in Specimen III
Applied Load Range in Fatigue Testing 共P = 100 kN兲 between the back of the outstanding legs of the connection angles
Rotational Degree of Stringer-end and the floor-beam web. This gap was “closed” at a load level of
stiffness continuity moment about 50 kN. The same observation can be made when it comes to
Specimen 共kNm/ Rad兲 共%兲 共kNm兲 the stress measured in the outstanding leg at the bottom of the
connection.
I 3.2· 105 65 −66.5
Although the size of the presumed gap is very small, its pres-
II 3.5· 105 67 −68
ence could be the reason for the relatively low stiffness observed
III 2.2· 105 56 −57
in Specimen III and the slightly stiffening characteristics of their

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J. Bridge Eng. 2005.10:179-185.

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Fig. 6. Measured displacement and flexural stress at bottom of
specimens I and III
moment-load curves. The existence of these gaps and their effect
on the behavior of mechanically fastened connections have been
observed and confirmed in a number of previous investigations
共Fisher et al. 1987; Cousins et al. 1998; Wheeler et al. 2000兲, and
this clearly illustrates the wide range of parameters affecting the
behavior of these connections. In fact, the amount of deformation
involved in the response of these connections is comparatively
small. Minor imperfections, which do not otherwise affect the
ultimate load-carrying capacity of these connections, might there-
fore have a pronounced effect on their response at moderate load
levels.
Fatigue Damage in Stringer-to-Floor-Beam
Connections
The fact that the stringer-to-floor-beam connections in the tested
specimens already contained fatigue damage clearly indicates that
fatigue damage had accumulated in these connections during the
service life of the bridge. The fatigue tests therefore involved
monitoring both the growth of these preexisting cracks and the
initiation and development of new fatigue damage in the test
specimens. Two principal modes of fatigue damage could be ob-
served during the course of fatigue testing: fatigue-crack devel-
opment in the connection angles, or fatigue cracking of the rivets
connecting the outstanding legs of the connection angles to the
floor-beam web.
Crack Initiation and Propagation in Connection Angles
Initiation of new fatigue cracks in the connection angles always
took place near the angle fillet at the level of the upper row of
rivets in the connections. The out-of-plane distortion in the con-
nection angles reaches its maximum at the top of the connection
182 / JOURNAL OF BRIDGE ENGINEERING © ASCE / MARCH/APRIL 2005
J. Bridge Eng. 2005.10:179-185.
Fig. 7. Example of typical flexural stresses measured in outstanding
legs of connections—共dotted line shows assumed stress distribution兲
and is mostly restrained in this location by the small gauge dis-
tance left between the rivets and the angle fillet 共Fig. 5兲. Defor-
mation measurements made on top of two opposite connection
angles in Specimen I revealed that this out-of-plane deformation
共relative to the floor-beam web兲 was of the order of magnitude of
0.2 mm only at maximum load 共Pmax = 180 kN兲. The bending
stresses that developed in the connection angles as a result of this
small out-of-plane distortion were, however, considerable.
Fig. 7 shows a typical example of these bending stresses 共␴x兲,
measured near the fillet in the upper part of the connection angles.
Rosettes were used to register the local strain on the outer surface
of the angle at the level of the upper rivet, while the flexural strain
in other locations was measured using 1 mm long strain gauges.
The presence of the geometrical stress concentrations is apparent,
and this high local stress was the cause of crack initiation in these
locations.
As for crack initiation, the propagation of the cracks in the
outstanding legs of the connection angles was primarily driven by
the tensile bending stresses caused by distortion of the angles.
The cracks were only “surface cracks” for most of their propaga-
tion life and only propagated through the entire thickness at the
latter stages of the propagation process.
Fig. 8 shows a typical crack propagation scenario obtained
from a connection angle in Specimen I. The crack length was
determined using dye penetrant after removing the paint on the
cracked area. Subsequent to crack detection 共1兲, the extension in
the length of the surface crack was fairly rapid. The presence of
the crack in the upper part of the connection was, however, asso-
ciated with a local reduction in the flexural stiffness of the
cracked outstanding leg. In spite of this, the rotational stiffness of
the connection was actually unaffected at this stage of crack
propagation, and this resulted in the “relief” of the bending
stresses in the cracked area, with a gradual reduction in the crack
propagation rate as a result. The next stiffest part of the connec-
tion 共that is, the outstanding leg at the level of the second row of
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Fig. 8. Typical propagation scenarios for fatigue cracks in connection
angles
rivets兲 started to “attract” an increasing percentage of the forces
acting on the connection, and a second crack was eventually ini-
tiated in this area 共2兲.
The propagation of the second crack continued at an almost
constant rate until the two cracks finally met to form a long crack
occupying about 40% of the total connection depth 共3兲. At this
point, the first crack had propagated through the entire thickness
of the angle, along most of its length, with a clear release of the
restricted deformation 共opening兲 at the top of the connection.
Crack development in the adjacent L-profile of the double-angle
connection followed the same propagation scenario almost simul-
taneously.
Crack development in the connection angles was associated
with a gradual reduction in the rotational stiffness of the connec-
tions. The amount of restrained stringer-end rotation and the cor-
responding forces acting on the connection were consequently
reduced. This behavior had a pronounced effect on the decreasing
propagation rate of these cracks and could be clearly followed by
monitoring the increase in bending stress in the midspan of the
stringers during different stages of crack propagation, 共Fig. 9兲.
More than 1.5 million cycles were required to drive the crack in
Fig. 8 another 2 to 3 mm, from 共3兲 to 共4兲.
All three specimens displayed similar behavior, with the
cracks in the outstanding legs of the angles eventually being to-
tally arrested. The lower stiffness of the connections in Specimen
III was also reflected in the course of fatigue-damage develop-
ment in these connections. On the one hand, damage development
Fig. 9. Reduction in rotational stiffness of double-angle connections
caused by crack development in these connections could be followed
by monitoring increase in bending stresses at stringer midspan
JOURNAL OF BRIDGE ENGINEERING © ASCE / MARCH/APRIL 2005 / 183
J. Bridge Eng. 2005.10:179-185.
Fig. 10. Propagation of cracks in angles of Specimen III was slower
due to lower rotational stiffness shown by these connections
in the connections of this specimen 共rivet failure and fatigue
cracking兲 was limited to a small number of connections. Further-
more, the propagation rate of the cracks in the connection angles
of these specimens was noticeably slower, with an arrest in crack-
ing after about 8 million cycles. Fig. 10 shows a comparison of
the propagation rates of typical fatigue cracks in the three speci-
mens tested.
Fatigue Cracking of Rivets
All three specimens experienced fatigue failure in the rivets con-
necting the outstanding legs of the connection angles to the floor-
beam web. While these fasteners were designed to withstand the
shear forces acting on the connection, they were subjected 共by the
action of moment兲 to additional tensile forces, which were not
taken into account in the original design of the connections.
Fig. 11 shows the variation in the average nominal tensile
stress in one of the upper rivets in Specimen I as a function of the
moment acting on the connection. This stress was measured using
strain gauges specially designed for uniaxial strain measurements
in bolts.
Although the measured stress range in this rivet is relatively
low 共␴r ⬇ 45 MPa兲, the rivet failed as a result of fatigue after
about 890,000 cycles. In fact, rivet failure in other specimens
could be detected at much earlier stages, and microscopic exami-
nation of the fracture surfaces of some of these rivets indicated
the existence of “old” fatigue cracks that had existed prior to
fatigue testing. It should, however, be pointed out that bending of
the rivets caused by flexure of the outstanding legs of the connec-
tion angles, together with the stress concentration present at the
junction between the rivet shank and its head, were the major
mechanisms behind the initiation and propagation of the cracks in
these rivets 共rather than the variation in the nominal axial tensile
stress in these rivets兲. This was clearly evident when following
the location of crack initiation in these rivets and the direction of
their propagation 共Fig 11兲.
As in the case of crack development in the connection angles,
rivet failure also resulted in a reduction in the rotational stiffness
of these connections. In Specimen III, for instance, the fracture of
the two rivets in the upper row of rivets in the connection was
“enough” to release most of the restrained deformation, and no
further cracking or rivet failure was observed in these connec-
tions. The loading of this specimen continued up to 10· 106 cycles
共Fig. 10兲. However, the fracture scenario observed in the connec-
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Fig. 11. Measured nominal tensile stress in rivet as function of connection moment
tions on one side of Specimen II deviated markedly from the
general observation mentioned above. Rivet failure continued in
these connections in a dominolike manner, and at the end of the
fatigue test, 8 of the 10 rivets assembling the connections on this
side had fractured.
Inspection of some of the fractured rivets, which were located
at the lower part of the connections, and examination of the lo-
cation of crack initiation and the direction of crack propagation in
these rivets indicate that shear deformation may have contributed
to the process of crack initiation and propagation in these rivets
共Fig 12兲.
In spite of this, the fractured rivets at the top of the connection
were actually still able to participate in carrying some of the shear
forces acting on the connection. The amount of shear force car-
ried by these rivets gradually decreased due to fretting between
the rivet shank and the angles of the connection. As a result, the
rivets at the bottom of the connection carried an increasing
“share” of these shear forces, with considerable shear deformation
and secondary rivet bending as the result. Other observed defects
such as faultily formed rivet heads and the misalignment of the
holes in the connected components may also have contributed to
fatigue cracking in these rivets. Nevertheless, rivet failure in all
the tested specimens was seen to occur in a somewhat ductile
manner. The area of final fracture 共with cleavage characteristics兲
occupied only a very small part of the total rivet area, and in most
cases the fractured rivet head was not completely separated at the
time of damage detection.
Residual Load-Carrying Capacity of Damaged
Connections
Subsequent to fatigue testing, and when no further damage devel-
opment in the connections could be observed, the specimens were
Fig. 12. One of rivets in third row of connection in Specimen II 共also
observe defect shape of unfractured rivet head兲
184 / JOURNAL OF BRIDGE ENGINEERING © ASCE / MARCH/APRIL 2005
J. Bridge Eng. 2005.10:179-185.
subjected to a final static load to examine the residual shear ca-
pacity of the damaged connections. Fatigue-crack development in
the angles of the connections had reduced their shear-resistant
area by up to 40%, and 8 of the 10 rivets assembling the connec-
tions were damaged and had their heads popped off in one case.
Despite this extensive damage, all three specimens were capable
of carrying the maximum static load that could be provided by the
testing equipment, Pmax = 600 kN/ hydraulic jack 共the correspond-
ing bending stresses measured at stringer midspan were 140
MPa兲.
The calculated nominal shear stresses in the uncracked part of
the connection angles were well below those corresponding to
yielding. However, in some cases, the flexural stresses measured
in the outstanding legs of the angles exceeded the yield stress of
the material as a result of the “residual” rotational stiffness in
these cracked connections 共Fig. 9兲.
Fatigue damage in the rivets connecting the outstanding legs
of the connection angle to the floor-beam web did not immedi-
ately eliminate their shear resistance. Even though one of its
heads had popped off, the rivet shank was still able to transfer
some of the shear forces acting on the connection. In fact, at-
tempts to drive the damaged rivets out of the connections were
unsuccessful in most cases, as a result of the tight fit between the
rivet shank and the connected plates owing to hole misalignment.
Summary and Conclusions
The fatigue performance of riveted double-angle stringer-to-floor-
beam connections was investigated in a series of static and fatigue
tests conducted on three full-scale bridge parts taken from an old
riveted railway bridge. The results of the static tests have shown
that these double-angle shear connections, despite being assumed
in a simplified manner to act as pin connections, may actually
develop considerable moment due to the restraint they exert on
the stringer-end rotation associated with bending.
Fatigue problems in stringer-to-floor-beam connections in riv-
eted steel bridges are mainly of a distortion-induced character.
The connections are subjected to applied deformation, which,
when repeated cyclically, could result in fatigue-damage develop-
ment in these connections. Two modes of fatigue damage could
be observed in the tests:
• Fatigue cracking in the outstanding legs of the connection
angles. These cracks are initiated and driven by the high local
 bending stresses resulting from the out-of-plane distortion of
the outstanding legs; and
• Fatigue cracking of the rivets connecting the outstanding legs
of the connection angles to the floor-beam web. The effect of
the applied deformation is to subject these rivets to axial and
bending stresses that could eventually result in their fatigue
cracking.
Both modes of fatigue damage were initiated at the upper part
of the connections, where the distortion-induced stresses in the
rivets and the angles are at their maximum. The rate of fatigue-
damage development in the tested connections was, however,
fairly slow. Rivet fractures and the presence of fatigue cracks in
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the connection angles were associated with a gradual reduction in
the stiffness of the connection. An increasing amount of the ap-
plied deformation could therefore be accommodated, and the
forces acting on the connections were reduced.
The presence of fatigue damage in riveted double-angle
stringer-to-floor-beam connections does not immediately reduce
their load-carrying capacity. The cracks in the angles typically
had very slow and gradually decreasing propagation rates, and the
rivets with popped-off heads could still carry some portion of the
shear forces acting on the connections. Even when up to 40% of
the connection angles had cracked or when 8 of the 10 rivets in
the connection had fractured, the connections were still able to
transfer considerable shear forces, yet with substantial yielding
and large deformation. However, fatigue damage in stringer-to-
floor-beam connections has in some cases been reported to result
in total fracture of these connections, and such damage needs
therefore to be dealt with as soon as it is detected.
As they are composed of several components, riveted double-
angle stringer-to-floor-beam connections also attain some degree
of inherent structural redundancy, which diminishes the risk of
brittle fracture in these connections.
Acknowledgment
The work presented in this paper is part of the writer’s Ph.D.
thesis and has mainly been funded by the National Rail Admin-
istration in Sweden. The writer would therefore like to acknowl-
edge with deep gratitude the aid and support provided by the
National Rail Administration, which also donated the tested
bridge parts.
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J. Bridge Eng. 2005.10:179-185.
Notations
The following symbols are used in this paper:
E ⫽ modulus of elasticity;
I ⫽ second moment of area;
Krot ⫽ rotational stiffness of double-angle connections;
M ⫽ moment;
M p ⫽ midsupport moment of partially continuous two-span
girder;
M f ⫽ midsupport moment of a fully continuous two-span
girder;
N ⫽ number of cycles;
P ⫽ applied load;
Pr ⫽ applied load range;
␣ ⫽ stiffness ratio;
␦ ⫽ out-of-plane distortion 共displacement兲;
␴ ⫽ stress;
␴x ⫽ flexural stress in outstanding leg of connection angle;
␴max ⫽ maximum stress in rivet;
␴nom ⫽ nominal axial stress in rivet; and
␸ ⫽ rotation of stringer end.
References
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