Fatigue driving force of riveted shear joints in bridges — Replacing the net section stress

Many old steel bridges contain hot riveted double strap butt joints. The fatigue life of these joints is subject of growing concern. We collected 629 fatigue tests, showing that the fatigue resistance expressed as the net section stress range is extremely scattered. Based on the theory of mechanics and the finite element method, we developed analytical equations to estimate the hoop stress range in the plate at the rivet hole. Using this stress parameter, the scatter in fatigue resistance reduces significantly. The model also gives insight into how the joint geometry influences the fatigue resistance.