Detail categories for the flange-to-web weld detail in corrugated web girders

Journal article, 2025

Corrugated web girders have gained popularity in both buildings and bridges due to their efficient use of materials. Previous research work has demonstrated that stainless steel corrugated web offers a promising solution for composite road bridges. However, to utilize these girders Efficiently in bridges, it is crucial to understand their fatigue performance. Notably, EN1993–1-9 does not include a detail category for the flange-to-web weld detail in girders with corrugated webs made of either carbon or stainless steel. To address this gap, numerous tests have been conducted and reported in the literature on carbon steel girders with various corrugation geometries. This paper aims at deriving detail categories for the flange-to-web weld detail in girders with corrugated webs. As a first step, it focuses on carbon steel, compiling, analyzing, and evaluating 86 fatigue test results available in the literature. The results show that the corrugation angle is the most important geometric parameter influencing the fatigue strength of the studied details. Based on this work, the following detail categories are proposed for various corrugation angles: DC125 for angles smaller than 30°, DC112 for angles between 30° and 40°, DC100 for angles between 40° and 45°, and DC90 for angles between 45° and 60°. Furthermore, the impact of other influencing geometrical parameters, such as bend radius and flange thickness, on fatigue strength is explored. The risk for root cracking in the weld between the flange and corrugated web is also evaluated through effective notch stress analysis.