Understanding fatigue life of steel railroad bridge components is of particular importance. Some steel girders may have reduced section areas at or near quarter-span locations. The designers may not have anticipated today's heavier axle loads or considered fatigue.rnTransportation Technology Center, Inc., tested a steel railroad bridge to validate a recent development in fatigue theory that is particularly applicable to unit trains on steel railroad bridges. The test results show the need to evaluate fatigue ratings at quarter-span locations, in addition to the traditional mid-spanrnlocation for many typical railroad spans.rnWhile the mid-span location is usually the area that governs steel girder design for bending and is most commonly checked for rating, this study shows that the quarter-span area should also be checked when fatigue is considered.
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