Sustained-Load and Fatigue Performance of a Hybrid FRP-Concrete Bridge Deck System
by Gordon P. Warn, (corresponding author), A.M.ASCE, (Assistant Professor, Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Penn State Univ., University Park, PA 16802 E-mail: gwarn@engr.psu.edu) and Amjad J. Aref, M.ASCE, (Professor, Dept. of Civil, Structural, and Environmental Engineering, Univ. at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY 14260. E-mail: aaref@buffalo.edu)
Journal of Composites for Construction, Vol. 14, No. 6, November/December 2010, pp. 856-864, (doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)CC.1943-5614.0000130)
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| Document type: |
Journal Paper |
| Abstract: |
The design and construction of bridge systems with long-term durability and low maintenance requirements is a significant challenge for bridge engineers. One possible solution to this challenge could be through the use of new materials, e.g., fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) composites, with traditional materials that are arranged as an innovative hybrid structural system where the FRP serves as a load-carrying constituent and a protective cover for the concrete. This paper presents the results of an experimental investigation designed to evaluate the performance of a 3/4 scale hybrid FRP-concrete (HFRPC) bridge deck and composite connection under sustained and repeated (fatigue) loading. In addition, following the sustained-load and fatigue portions of the experimental study, destructive testing was performed to determine the first strength-based limit state of the hybrid deck. Results from the sustained-load and fatigue testing suggest that the HFRPC deck system might be a viable alternative to traditional cast-in-place reinforced concrete decks showing no global creep behavior and no degradation in stiffness or composite action between the deck and steel girders after 2 million cycles of dynamic loading with a peak load of 1.26 times the scaled tandem load (TL). Furthermore, the ultimate strength test showed that the deck failed prior to the global superstructure at a load approximately six times the scaled TL. |
| Author Keywords: | 
| Fiber reinforced polymers |
| Bridge deck |
| Creep |
| Fatigue |
| Experimental |
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