Experimental and numerical research on the static behavior of locally corroded OSBD

Corrosion can accelerate the deterioration of the mechanical properties of orthotropic steel bridge decks (OSBDs), seriously affecting the service safety of steel bridges. In this paper, thirty Q345C steel and four OSBD specimens with various corrosion levels are designed to investigate the effect of corrosion on the static behavior of OSBDs. Then, corrosion damage and its influence on mechanical properties are explored by static loading experiments. The constitutive model for Q345C steel is built considering the impact of corrosion. Finally, a numerical analysis considering geometric initial defects is employed to compare the effect of corrosion location on bearing capacity degradation. It is observed from the tested results that the corrosion led to the failure mode of Q345C steel changing from plastic failure to brittle failure. The ultimate bearing capacity of specimens with a local corrosion rate of 7.92%, 12.05%, and 16.24% decreased by 11.08%, 14.45%, and 17.82%, respectively. Corrosion leads to stress concentration in the top plate area, causing local instability of the structure. The degradation degree of the bearing capacity of the top plate is greater than that of the U-rib corrosion corresponding to the same corrosion conditions.