在役钢丝火损后剩余疲劳寿命试验研究

Experimental study on the residual fatigue life of fire-damaged corroded parallel steel wires

  • 摘要: 随着交通运输业的发展,桥梁车致火灾日益增多,火灾对桥梁拉索造成巨大威胁。为评估在役钢丝火灾损伤后的剩余疲劳性能本研究开展在役钢丝火损后剩余疲劳寿命试验,旨在完善桥梁钢结构极端工况下的疲劳性能理论体系,为在役斜拉桥拉索火灾后安全评估、加固更换决策及相关设计规范修订提供试验支撑,从而保障交通运输基础设施的长期服役安全与经济性。试验选用某服役时间超过25 年的斜拉桥拉索平行钢丝,首先对更换下来的在役斜钢丝进行高温试验以模拟实际火灾损伤,随后对火损后钢丝与其余未火损钢丝进行高频疲劳试验。疲劳试验设定300、360、420和480 MPa共4组加载应力幅,记录两类钢丝的疲劳加载次数并观察断口形貌。试验结束后,采用箱线图统计两类钢丝的剩余疲劳寿命,绘制在役钢丝火损后应力幅S和剩余疲劳寿命NS-N双对数曲线,并与未火损钢丝的S-N曲线。试验结果表明:随疲劳试验应力幅的上升,在役钢丝火损后的断口裂纹扩展面逐渐缩小,瞬断区逐渐增大,剩余疲劳寿命逐渐减小;在役钢丝火损后的剩余疲劳寿命显著小于未火损钢丝,且在低应力幅阶段下降较慢、在高应力幅阶段下降较快;火损后钢丝的剩余疲劳寿命下降速率高于未火损钢丝,腐蚀和火灾的叠加作用加速了在役钢丝疲劳性能的劣化。

     

    Abstract: With the rising incidence of vehicle-induced fires on bridges and the long-term exposure of cable-supported structures to corrosive environments, the safety and durability of bridge stay cables have become pressing concerns in civil engineering. High-strength parallel steel wires—the main load-carrying elements—are vulnerable to corrosion-related degradation, especially when their protective sheathing is damaged, and may experience additional thermal effects during accidental fires, resulting in accelerated material deterioration that further compromises the structural integrity and service life of the entire bridge. However, a substantial gap persists in experimental research on the residual fatigue performance of in-service corroded steel wires after fire exposure, particularly using actual bridge components. This study addresses that gap by systematically examining the residual fatigue life of corroded parallel steel wires removed from a real cable-stayed bridge after simulated fire damage. The wire specimens, extracted from a bridge built in 1995, were taken from regions near the pylons where environmental exposure had produced visible corrosion. Following ISO 8407-2021, the average corrosion depth was measured as 36.39 μm. Twenty-eight corroded wires were then exposed to 700 ℃ for 20 minutes to simulate fire temperatures typically encountered in bridge vehicle fires, followed by natural cooling, while a control group of 25 corroded but unheated wires was prepared for comparison. Fatigue tests were performed at room temperature using a GPS-100 hydraulic-servo testing machine under four stress amplitudes (300, 360, 420, and 480 MPa), with a stress ratio of 0.4 and a loading frequency of 80 Hz in accordance with GB/T 17101-2019, setting a run-out limit of two million cycles. The results showed that fire exposure markedly shortened the fatigue life of corroded wires: at higher stress amplitudes (e.g., 480 MPa), most fire-damaged specimens failed before 70,000 cycles, whereas the control group displayed considerably longer fatigue lives at all stress levels. Fractographic observations using scanning electron microscopy revealed distinct failure mechanisms: fire-damaged wires exhibited brittle fracture features, including smaller crack-initiation regions and larger instantaneous-fracture areas caused by microstructural changes such as grain coarsening and oxidation induced by high temperatures, while unheated wires showed more ductile characteristics such as shear lips and broader fatigue-crack propagation zones. Boxplot analysis indicated greater scatter at lower stress amplitudes for both groups—particularly for fire-damaged wires—due to the combined influence of corrosion and fire-induced surface degradation, with variability decreasing as stress amplitude increased. The S–N relationships plotted in double-logarithmic coordinates showed bilinear behavior with a transition point near 420 MPa for both groups, though with different tendencies: fire-damaged wires exhibited a gradual reduction in fatigue life at lower amplitudes (300–420 MPa) but a sharp decline at higher amplitudes (420–480 MPa), whereas the control group showed a steeper decline at lower stresses and a more moderate decrease at higher stresses. Empirical regression equations were developed to model the fatigue life under varying stress conditions. Overall, the study concludes that the combined effects of corrosion and fire drastically accelerate fatigue deterioration in in-service steel wires, reducing fatigue resistance and shifting the failure mode from ductile to brittle, thereby heightening the susceptibility of bridge cables under cyclic loading. The findings provide essential experimental data and predictive models for evaluating the residual fatigue life of fire-damaged bridge cables, supporting improved post-fire inspection practices, maintenance planning, and potential design-code enhancements, thereby contributing to safer and more resilient cable-supported bridge infrastructure.

     

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