GFRP Bridge Deck Research Articles

Experimental characterization of a pultruded GFRP bridge deck for light-weight vehicles

A composite bridge deck system assembled from a modular profile with double-rectangular cells has been developed for light-weight vehicles. This paper presents the experimental characterization of the flexural performance of pultruded GFRP decks under static loading. Several tests were carried on single module and adhesively bonded modules. The specimen details such as dimensions, material properties and fiber architecture are given. Numerical verification is performed by using the general purpose finite element package ABAQUS. Experimental set-up, instrumentation, testing procedure, failure modes and the results of these experiments have been discussed in detail.

Pilot test on a developed GFRP bridge deck

In this paper, an optimum design technique is developed which can be applied to bridge decks based on FRP materials with more complex objective functions and constraints than those of existing materials. The proposed optimum design technique is applied to determine optimum geometry for bridge decks and properties of the FRP material by carrying out three-dimensional numerical modeling. In addition, FRP deck modules have been produced using the pultrusion method after considering the proposed optimum cross-section shape and property of the material, and several tests have been performed to validate the performance of the developed GFRP deck.

Computer simulations and parametric studies of GFRP bridge deck systems

This research studies the structural behavior of a GFRP bridge deck system. The study develops FEM models of the GFRP bridge deck system using ANSYS 7.0 software package. Data collected from field measurements and laboratory testing is used to validate and calibrate the proposed FEM models. Parametric studies through computer simulations are conducted to investigate the characteristics of the system. Four parameters are considered for service load conditions: (a) presence of diaphragms, (b) girder stiffness, (c) girder spacing, and (d) composite action. In addition, geometric and material nonlinearities are considered in the investigation of the capacity of the new bridge system. The analysis results are discussed and conclusions on the GFRP deck system are presented.

Plate bending behavior of a pultruded GFRP bridge deck system

The bi-directional plate bending behavior of a pultruded GFRP bridge deck system with orthotropic material and system properties was investigated by means of two full-scale experiments and numerical modeling. Furthermore, the maximum span of the deck between two main girders was determined using Eurocode loading and presupposing a maximum deflection ratio of span/300. Compared to an isotropic plate-strip, the bi-directional behavior of the orthotropic deck was not very pronounced. Nevertheless, selecting experiment specimen with five profiles instead of only three reduced the maximum deflections at the serviceability limit state (SLS) by ca. 50%. Therefore, since the SLS governs in the design of GFRP bridge decks, the possible contribution of bi-directional plate bending is not insignificant and should be considered and improved in order to fully exploit the potential of pultruded GFRP bridge decks.