Sufficient Choice of Steel Material for Bridge Bearings to Avoid Brittle Fracture: Determination of correction functions

Usually, steel structures are designed for the high layer region of the steel toughness-temperature. To account for reduced toughness properties in the temperature transition range, additional safety checks, rooted in fracture mechanics considerations, are necessary. These checks allow a sufficient choice of steel material to avoid brittle fracture. Given this context, recommendations were outlined in 2011 to regulate the suitable selection of steel grades for bearing components. However, these proposals are no longer fully aligned with more recent insights. Consequently, the German Centre for Rail Traffic Research has announced a research project with the aim to define a proposal for expanding the regulatory framework concerning appropriate material selection to avoid brittle fracture in bridge bearings.