Assessment of Corrosion Effects on Railway Bridges in the Middle Area of Vietnam Using Multibody Dynamics Approach

A railway bridge over several decades will be degraded due to localized corrosion. As a result, the load capacity of the bridge decreases, especially under the live load caused by trains. This paper examines the residual load capacity of a bridge deteriorated by localized corrosion by using the multibody dynamics approach. This approach allows an accurate description of the interaction between trains and bridges. At the same time, it allows the formation of corrosion marks on each structural member of the bridge in a numerical model precisely based on actual measured data. In order to describe accurately the remaining load of the bridge under the moving load of the train, a dynamic testing and finite element modeling of a steel bridge are conducted and compared. At the same time, the results are also compared with the simulation results of the bridge model before being corroded. In addition, the paper also tests the reliability of the numerical model for assessments of similar bridges without actual measurement results that are costly and time-consuming.