Abstract
This paper presents experimental and analytical studies on flexural behavior of slab-rib integrated Sandwich composite decks. The influences of layers of glass fiber-reinforced polymer (GFRP) facesheets, foam densities, and the existence of webs and cross beams are discussed herein. The test results showed that the existence of vertical webs remarkably improved the debonding of the facesheets from the foam core, thus increasing the ultimate load by 59% compared with the specimens without webs. However, the existence of horizontal webs has insignificant effect on the failure mode and ultimate load. Increasing the number of layers of GFRP facesheets from 2 to 4 and 6 results in 100% and 214% increments in ultimate loads, respectively, while the specimen with lower density of foam had a higher ultimate load than the specimen with higher density of foam due to deformation compatibility between GFRP skins and foam core with low density. The analysis software Abaqus Explicit was used to simulate the flexural behavior of test specimens, and the numerical results agreed well with the test data. The verified finite element model was extended to analyze the influences of the number of GFRP layers on the top of decks and the height of vertical webs. Based on equivalent method and compatibility of shear deformation, the flexural and shear rigidities were estimated. Then, analytical solution for displacement of the slab-rib integrated Sandwich composite decks subjected to four-point load was derived out. Comparison of analytical and experimental results shows that the displacements can be precisely predicted by the present theoretical model.
Highlights
Fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) sandwich composites consisted of two thin facesheets and low-density cores and have been successfully applied as bridge decks, bumps for anti-collision of piers, structural walls and roofs, etc. in civil infrastructure [1,2,3,4], due to their advantageous properties of light weight, high flexural strength and rigidity, and substantial resistance to corrosion
Compared with pultruded hollow FRP modules, foam-filled sandwich composites exhibit improvement on local buckling of the lamina and contribute to decreasing the stress concentration at the webflange joint [5]. Among their applications in bridges, FRP sandwiches used as decks in deck-girder bridges or as slabs are beneficial for maintenance purposes and convenience of the replacement of the bridge to accommodate traffic increment
Chen and Davalos [7] studied the strength properties of the facesheet of sandwich composite panels with honeycomb core and Advances in Materials Science and Engineering developed an optimized facesheet configuration. ey suggested that the compressive strength of the facesheet was more critical and controlled the design. e design and field testing of a glass fiber-reinforced polymer (GFRP) corrugated-core sandwich bridge indicated that the dynamic effects were insignificant and this structure is a competitive short-span bridge alternative [8]
Summary
Fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) sandwich composites consisted of two thin facesheets and low-density cores and have been successfully applied as bridge decks, bumps for anti-collision of piers, structural walls and roofs, etc. in civil infrastructure [1,2,3,4], due to their advantageous properties of light weight, high flexural strength and rigidity, and substantial resistance to corrosion. In order to improve the structural efficiency and decrease the deck weight, Osei-Antw et al [9] designed a novel GFRP sandwich slab-bridge, in which the core consisted of highdensity and low-density balsa and a FRP arch. Mohamed et al [10] compared the mechanical behaviors of GFRP sandwich structures with web-core, trapezoid, and polyurethane rigid foam. Reis and Rizkalla [13] investigated the mechanical behavior of 3-dimensional (3D) GFRP sandwich panels and found that increasing the density of through-thickness fibers resulted in decreasing the tensile strength of the facesheets significantly, due to the waviness among the fibers in the perpendicular direction. Flexural tests have been conducted on nine slab-rib integrated sandwich decks with GFRP skins and polyurethane foam core.
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