Applicability of performance improvement method of existing steel railway bridges by installing concrete decks

Steel railway bridges which exceed their design lifetime are increasing in Japan, and some of them have problems such as corrosion and fatigue. In this study, we proposed a method to improve the performance, such as the load-carrying capacity, of the existing steel railway bridges by installation of concrete decks. To figure out the applicability of the proposed method, we discussed the applicable range of span and the effect of stress reduction. Considering application into actual bridges, we proposed an installation method using pre-cast concrete decks and girder-deck connection with filler mortar and steel fasteners. Finally, we carried out loading tests of the connection with fasteners and bending tests of the applied girders. As a result, we found that the girder-deck connections have enough static capacity for lateral force and train loads, under the condition that the studs are installed and the gaps between the pre-cast decks are filled with mortar.