Failure Mechanisms and Changes in Load-Bearing Capacity of Sinusoidal Corrugated Girders Under Fatigue and Static Loading

Steel girders with corrugated webs are increasingly used in bridge and building structures subjected to cyclic variable loads, where the geometry of the corrugation plays an important role in fatigue performance. This paper investigates the fatigue behaviour and failure mechanisms of full-scale steel girders with sinusoidal corrugated webs subjected to static and cyclic four-point bending. Five simply supported girders were tested: one reference beam under monotonic static loading, two beams under long-term cyclic loading with different load ranges Δ<i>F</i> and numbers of cycles <i>N</i>, and two beams subjected to cyclic loading followed by a static test to failure. The experimental programme focused on the influence of the load range Δ<i>F</i> and the number of cycles <i>N</i> on damage development, stiffness degradation and residual load-bearing capacity, as well as on the interaction between local web instability and global lateral-torsional buckling. The test results show that two main failure mechanisms may occur: (I) local buckling of the corrugated web combined with yielding of the flanges, and (II) a combined mechanism involving local web buckling and lateral-torsional buckling of the girder. For the investigated configurations and within the range of load ranges and numbers of cycles considered, the load range Δ<i>F</i> was found to be the dominant parameter governing fatigue damage, whereas the number of cycles had a secondary influence. The global stiffness of the girders in the elastic range remained almost unchanged until the late stages of loading, and even after pre-fatigue loading, the girders were able to carry a significant portion of their original ultimate load. The results provide experimental data and insight that are relevant for the fatigue assessment and design of steel girders with sinusoidal corrugated webs in bridge and building applications.