Concrete fatigue describes the phenomenon were concrete breaks down under repeated weight and stressors. Fatigue is seen when concrete fails under added tension, compression, torsion, bending, or a combination of them all. Fatigue is seen after a long period of time. It can be observed after many years of different stressors working on the concrete.
Two types of fatigue failure in concrete:
Simple fatigue failure is one of the types of fatigues in concrete. This type of fatigue failure happens after long periods of repeated stressors being placed on the concrete. For example, a bridge is prone to concrete fatigue because of the tremble of multiple cars and heavy trucks passing by daily. The stressor of the constant passing of heavy vehicles may cause the concrete to fracture and the bridge to eventually collapse.
Status fatigue is the other type of fatigue in concrete. This type of fatigue happens when you slowly add weight to the concrete until the concrete gives out. This type of fatigue usually happens during a standard test of concrete.
Why is fatigue analysis important?
Fatigue analysis is important because fatigue in concrete can lead to the concrete cracking and after a while the structure may collapse. A structures design may be strong and durable, and it may be flexible, but none of those factors can determine fatigue in concrete.
