Fatigue damage analysis of a riveted steel overhead crane support truss

Abstract

A method is proposed to evaluate the residual life of existing steel structures in terms of fatigue damage. The proposed method is demonstrated on the assessment of selected elements in a nearly 100-year old exterior riveted crane support truss. The Monte Carlo method is used to generate a time-dependent load based on the operation of the overhead crane, and detailed numerical modelling based on rainflow counting and the Palmgren-Miner rule to assess their fatigue resistance and estimate their residual life is evaluated and discussed. This study provides a novel approach to the reliability assessment of riveted joints stressed by cyclic loading and stochastic modelling of the load history of existing structures.