Assessment of fatigue limits in historical welded railway bridges in Poland

Abstract Fatigue limit assessment is an essential procedure when calculating global resistance and durability in welded bridges which have a longer period of service. During radiographic testing of early welded railway bridges, the welded butt splices were found to be in poor condition, with additional internal cracking. Fatigue testing of the cracked butt welds and strength analysis of the bridge connections were undertaken, which allowed the endurance limit for a particular bridge to be assessed.