the structural resistance suddenly by shifting the accumulated
damage to a higher level. If the accumulated damage remains
below the given critical value the structure can remain in service
after such an overloading event. Whether the line for accumulated
damage progresses parallel to the initial line (line (a) in Fig. 2), or
whether the increase in damage is accelerated (line (b) Fig. 2) after
an overloading event depends on the nature of the damage and
on the specific structure. A reduction in remaining life time must
be assumed in any case because the critical value for accumulated
damage will be reached earlier.
The present paper focuses on damage caused by road traffic
on reinforced concrete bridges. A damage model was developed
that used the fatigue damage caused by stress oscillations in