Experimental studies on column foot connections of novel fully enclosed noise barriers

Abstract This paper investigates the static and fatigue behaviors of the column foot connection of a new fully enclosed noise barrier before it can be put into practice. This barrier was designed for freight railway bridges passing through city ecological areas to satisfy the high environmental assessment requirements in China. Because the height of the noise barrier reaches over two times the normal size, the column foot is tentatively connected with four high-strength U-bolts embedded in a concrete block located at the flange end of the railway box-girder bridge. A segmental full-scale static model test was performed to inspect the overall resistance of the connection. Then a fatigue test focusing on an interception column foot connection model considering the positive and negative pulsating wind pressure generated by the train was performed. The equivalent fatigue amplitude was determined by the internal force spectrum of a passing train at the column base. The results were compared with different scales of detailed FE models and discussed based on the given specifications. Instead of fatigue or strength damage, the column base bolts are more likely to become slightly loose when subjected to a period of large fatigue loads. Thus, such types of bolt connections should be inspected regularly for strict control of the tightening torque.