Bridges play a vital role in modern-day transportation, enabling the passage of people, vehicles, and goods around the world. Designing bridges can be challenging, particularly when considering the fatigue behaviour of decks from exerted loads caused by moving vehicles throughout the bridge's lifespan. This research project will specifically focus on bridge designs that incorporate Orthotropic Steel Decks (OSDs). OSDs are fabricated structural steel decks which feature welded reinforced ribs either longitudinally or transversely. This design enables the deck to directly support vehicular loads while also enhancing the overall load-bearing capacity of the bridge structure. However, beneath their sturdy exterior lies an unexplored fault - stress inflicted by moving vehicles, resulting in fatigue failure over time.

At the heart of this research endeavour is the goal to unravel the complex details of OSD fatigue characteristics when subjected to realistic dynamic loading scenarios. By dissecting the underlying issues of fatigue behaviour in OSDs under the influence of moving vehicles, this study aims to advance the design development of bridge structures by bridging the gap between the established understanding of static loading impacts on OSD fatigue performance and the preliminary investigation into the effects of moving loads on OSD fatigue performance over time.

This will be achieved through experimentally investigating orthotropic steel decks fatigue behaviour from the effects of moving traffic loads. The behaviour of the deck will be analysed through lab experiments which will reveal the OSDs stress / strain distribution and vertical deflection caused by the realistic live loads to reflect fatigue behaviour. Whilst previous studies have largely concentrated on the effects of static loading on OSD fatigue performance, this experimental research report addresses the crucial need to understand the long-term implications of dynamic loading to address the significant knowledge gap that currently exists.