The corrosion resistance of fiber-reinforced polymers, in addition to their high strength and light weight, makes them a promising alternative to traditional steel reinforcement in bridge decks. In cooperation with the Cuyahoga County (Ohio) Engineering Department, a health monitoring system was implemented on a two-span, 3500 square foot, replacement concrete bridge deck reinforced completely with GFRP reinforcing bars. This project represents one of the first applications of all-GFRP nontensioned reinforcement in a concrete deck on a continuous, multi-span vehicular bridge. The goal of the monitoring system was to collect strain, temperature, and deflection data from the bridge through seasonal environmental slow data sampling and periodic fast data sampling during live load tests for a period of 3 years. Seven live load tests and two extended seasonal environmental sampling periods were monitored on the bridge between May 2002 and December 2004. In addition, laboratory fatigue testing of representative GFRP sections was also conducted, in order to investigate flexural crack growth evolution (of initially cracked sections) under cyclic loading. The rehabilitated deck was found to have enhanced stiffness and greater continuity than the original degraded steel-reinforced deck. Observed levels of curvature, impact effects, relative slab deflections, and slab, rebar, and girder stresses were lower than anticipated, indicating the conservative nature of design procedures currently employed for GFRP concrete. The laboratory cyclic load testing indicated that even under the greatest service-load flexural stresses currently permitted, any flexural crack openings quickly stabilize at an acceptable magnitude. This investigation serves as a valuable comprehensive record of all-GFRP reinforced concrete behavior, and may foster confidence in its broader use in the infrastructure.
Early performance observations of a replacement GFRP reinforced highway bridge deck
Frühe Funktionsüberwachung von ausgewechselten Straßenbrückenbelägen mit faserverstärkten Kunststoffarmierungen
2006
12 Seiten, 14 Bilder, 11 Quellen
Conference paper
Storage medium
English
Eads Bridge Highway Deck Reconstruction
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