For a new safety fatigue design concept of civil engineering cables

Safety fatigue design of civil engineering cables is based, to day, on one hand on a maximum stress level and a limitation of stress range in service, and on the other hand on a fatigue test under pulsating tension of a specimen of cable with its anchorages. According, for example, to DIN 1073, the stress range of this fatigue test can be 150 MPa. Fatigue behaviour of civil engineering cables is less known that the one of mining ropes or cables for aerial rope ways. For those, many studies have been made on the subjects of fatigue behaviour under bending and bending tension. ln civil engineering, this is not the main problem and it is recognized that the most critical points are the anchorages and that breaking of wires will occur, preferably, near of or inside these pieces. Unfortunately there is, it seems, a lack of knowledge on the
actual failure mechanisms and only few publications on this subject are available.

Author(s): D. François & J.P. Gourmelon