The Glass Fibre-Reinforced Polymer–Steel Hybrid Footbridge of Saint Mateus Park, Portugal: From Conceptual Design to In Situ Assessment

Abstract

In the last two decades, the construction of pedestrian and road bridges using glass fibre reinforced polymers (GFRP) combined with traditional materials has notably increased. The potential of such hybrid structural systems stems from their ability to best exploit the mechanical properties of each constituent material. Pultruded multicellular deck panels have proved to offer innovation and competitiveness to the most recent hybrid panel-to-girder systems. The high strength-to-density ratio of the decks’ cross-sections, the low maintenance costs, the corrosion resistance together with the reduced installation times are particularly advantageous for footbridge applications. It was in this context that a GFRP-steel hybrid design was proposed for the construction of a pedestrian access to the St. Mateus Park in the city centre of Viseu, in Portugal. This recently opened footbridge is a 13.3 m span and 2.5 m wide simply supported low-rise arch, comprising HEB steel profiles and a pultruded GFRP slab composed by 75 mm thick multicellular deck panels with full interaction between elements (studs fastened and epoxy adhesivelybonded). The footbridge design was developed with support of full-scale tests on deck panels and using current analytical and numerical tools, which have proven to be sufficiently accurate for this particular structural system. The lightness/slenderness and harmonious landscape integration over the St. Mateus Market contributed to the wide acceptance of the hybrid footbridge by both the Municipal Authorities and the population in general.