This study conducts numerical analysis of fatigue crack propagation in deck-rib welded joints of orthotropic steel decks (OSDs) using linear elastic fracture mechanics. The stress intensity factor for central surface cracks under constant range bending stress is calculated, and single and multi-crack propagation are simulated by a numerical integration method. The research results show that deck geometry critically influences crack propagation behavior. Wider decks accelerate propagation of cracks after the crack depth exceeds half the deck thickness, thicker decks exhibit linearly faster propagation rates yet retain larger residual section to bear loads, and increased weld penetration reduces fatigue life. Initial defects rapidly converge to a preferred propagation path, stabilizing near af/cf≈0.1 (af is the failure crack depth and cf is the half surface crack length) regardless of initial aspect ratio. For multi-crack scenarios, defect density dominates merging, doubling density increases final cracks by 45%. Merged cracks adhere closely to the single-crack path, while total section loss escalates with defect density and deck thickness but remains stress range independent. The identified convergence preferred propagation path enables depth estimation from surface-length measurements during real bridge inspections.
Li et al. (Mon,) studied this question.