Fatigue Strength of Girders with Tapered Covered Plates

This report represents results from a study to determine the fatigue strength of steel beams with welded partial-length cover plates. Results of an experimental investigation that examined the fatigue strength of various cracked cover plate end details that were subsequently repaired are presented. The repair methods investigated included a slip-critical bolted splice plate connection, air-hammer peening, and a combination of the previous two called a partial bolted splice connection. Also, an analytical model was developed to predict the fatigue behavior of a cover plate and detail that is repaired using one of the three repair methods investigated and which contains a fatigue crack of a known size. The results of both the experimental and analytical studies indicated that a tapered cover plate detail can be effectively repaired with a corresponding improvement in the fatigue resistance