Fibre-reinforced polymer composite bars for the concrete deck slab of Wotton Bridge

2003 ◽  
Vol 30 (5) ◽  
pp. 861-870 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ehab El-Salakawy ◽  
Brahim Benmokrane ◽  
Gérard Desgagné

A new concrete bridge in the Municipality of Wotton, Quebec, Canada, was constructed using fibre-reinforced polymer (FRP) bars as reinforcement for the deck slab. The new bridge is a girder type with four main girders simply supported over a span of 30.60 m. One half of the concrete deck slab was reinforced with carbon and glass FRP bars, and the other half with conventional steel bars. The design of the reinforced concrete deck slab was made according to sections 8 and 16 of the new Canadian Highway Bridge Design Code. The bridge was well instrumented at critical locations for long-term internal temperature and strain data collection using fibre optic sensors. The construction of the bridge was completed and the bridge opened for traffic in October 2001. The bridge was then tested for service performance using standard truckloads. Design, construction details, and the results of the field test and 1 year of remote monitoring are discussed. Under the same real service and environmental conditions, very similar behaviour was obtained from the FRP (glass and carbon) and steel bars.Key words: concrete bridges, deck slabs, FRP bars, field test, fibre optic sensors, remote monitoring, serviceability.

2000 ◽  
Vol 27 (5) ◽  
pp. 928-940 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brahim Benmokrane ◽  
Habib Rahman ◽  
Phalguni Mukhopadhyaya ◽  
Radhouane Masmoudi ◽  
Mohammed Chekired ◽  
...  

The use of corrosion free fibre reinforced polymer (FRP) composites as reinforcement to concrete is currently being seen as a promising option to generate durable concrete structures. However, there exists very little credible information about its field application and performance. This paper describes the Joffre Bridge project, in Sherbrooke (Québec, Canada), over the St-François River, where Carbon Fibre Reinforced Polymer (CFRP) was used as reinforcement for a portion of the concrete deck slab. The bridge consists of five longitudinal spans with lengths varying from 26 to 37 m. Each span has a concrete deck supported by five steel girders at 3.7 m. A part of the concrete deck slab (7.3 × 11.5 m) and a portion of the traffic barrier and the sidewalk were reinforced with Carbon (CFRP) and Glass Fibre Reinforced Polymer (GFRP) reinforcement. The bridge was extensively instrumented with many different types of gauges, including integrated fibre optic sensors (FOS) into FRP reinforcement. The performance of the bridge had been assessed under static and dynamic loading using calibrated heavy trucks. Moreover, structural design and construction details of the bridge and instrumentation were performed. The results from calibrated field tests on the bridge are presented in this paper.Key words: concrete bridge deck, FRP reinforcement, fibre optic sensors (FOS), field calibrated tests, performance monitoring.


2007 ◽  
Vol 34 (3) ◽  
pp. 298-310 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brahim Benmokrane ◽  
Ehab El-Salakawy ◽  
Amr El-Ragaby ◽  
Sherif El-Gamal

This paper presents the construction details, field testing, and analytical results of six innovative concrete bridges reinforced with fibre-reinforced-polymer (FRP) bars recently constructed in North America, namely Wotton, Magog, Cookshire-Eaton, Val-Alain, and Melbourne bridges in Quebec, Canada, and Morristown bridge in Vermont, USA. All six bridges are girder type, with main girders made of either steel or prestressed concrete. The main girders are supported over spans ranging from 26.2 to 50.0 m. The deck is a 200–230 mm thick concrete slab continuous over spans of 2.30–3.15 m. Different types of glass- and carbon-FRP reinforcing bars and conventional steel were used as reinforcement for the concrete deck slab. The six bridges are located on different highway categories, which means different traffic volume and environmental conditions. The bridges are well instrumented at critical locations for internal temperature and strain data collection using fibre optic sensors. These sensors are used to monitor the deck behaviour from the time of construction to several years after the completion of construction. The bridges were tested for service performance using calibrated truckloads. In parallel, a finite element analysis (FEA) was conducted and verified against the results of the field load tests. The FEA was then used to run parametric studies to investigate the effect of several important parameters such as FRP reinforcement type and ratio on the service and ultimate behaviour of these bridge decks. The analytical and field results under real service conditions, in terms of deflections, cracking, and strains in reinforcement and concrete, were comparable to those of concrete bridge deck slabs reinforced with steel.Key words: bridges deck slabs, fibre-reinforced-polymer (FRP) bars, field testing, finite element analysis.


2018 ◽  
Vol 45 (4) ◽  
pp. 263-278 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Rostami ◽  
Khaled Sennah ◽  
Hamdy M. Afefy

This paper presents an experimental program to justify the barrier design at the barrier–deck junction when compared to the factored applied transverse vehicular loading specified in the Canadian Highway Bridge Design Code (CHBDC). Compared to the dimensioning and the glass fibre reinforced polymer (GFRP) bar detailing of a recently crash-tested GFRP-reinforced barrier, the adopted barrier configurations in this paper were similar to those specified by Ministry of Transportation of Québec (MTQ) for TL-5 barrier except that the base of the barrier was 40 mm narrower and the deck slab is of 200 mm thickness, leading to reduction in the GFRP embedment depth into the deck slab. Four full-scale TL-5 barrier specimens were tested to collapse. Correlation between the experimental findings and the factored applied moments from CHBDC equivalent vehicle impact forces resulting from the finite-element modelling of the barrier–deck system was conducted followed by recommendations for use of the proposed design in highway bridges in Québec.


2001 ◽  
Vol 28 (4) ◽  
pp. 583-592 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amin Ghali ◽  
Tara Hall ◽  
William Bobey

To avoid excessive deflection most design codes specify the ratio (l/h)s, the span to minimum thickness of concrete members without prestressing. Use of the values of (l/h)s specified by the codes, in selecting the thickness of members, usually yields satisfactory results when the members are reinforced with steel bars. Fibre reinforced polymer (FRP) bars have an elastic modulus lower than that of steel. As a result, the values of (l/h)s specified in codes for steel-reinforced concrete would lead to excessive deflection if adopted for FRP-reinforced concrete. In this paper, an equation is developed giving the ratio (l/h)f for use with FRP bars in terms of (l/h)s and (εs/εf), where εs and εf are the maximum strain allowed at service in steel and FRP bars, respectively. To control the width of cracks, ACI 318-99 specifies εs = 1200 × 10–6 for steel bars having a modulus of elasticity, Es, of 200 GPa and a yield strength, fy, of 400 MPa. At present, there is no value specified for εf; a value is recommended in this paper.Key words: concrete, cracking, deflection, fibre reinforced polymers, flexural members, minimum thickness.


2004 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 209-215
Author(s):  
Hau Yan Leung

Although much research on concrete beams reinforced with fibre‐reinforced polymer (FRP) rods has been conducted in recent years, their use still does not receive the attention it deserves from practicising engineers. This is attributed to the fact that FRP is brittle in nature and the collapse of FRP‐reinforced concrete member may be catastrophic. A rational beam design can incorporate a hybrid use of FRP rods and steel rods. Current design codes only deal with steel‐reinforced or FRP‐reinforced concrete members. Therefore in this study some design charts and equations for concrete beam sections reinforced with FRP rods and steel rebars were generated. Results from the theoretical derivations agreed well with experimental data.


2000 ◽  
Vol 27 (3) ◽  
pp. 475-480 ◽  
Author(s):  
O Shervan Khanna ◽  
Aftab A Mufti ◽  
Baidar Bakht

To study systematically the role of each layer of steel reinforcement in conventionally reinforced deck slabs of girder bridges, a full-scale model was built of a 175 mm thick concrete deck slab on two steel girders with a center-to-center spacing of 2.0 m. The 12 m long deck slab was conceptually divided into four 3 m long segments, identified as segments A, B, C, and D. Segment A contained isotropic steel reinforcement in two layers, conforming to the requirements of the Ontario Highway Bridge Design Code (OHBDC). Segment B contained only the bottom layer of steel reinforcement. Segment C contained only the bottom transverse steel bars. Segment D contained only bottom transverse glass fibre reinforced polymer (GFRP) bars having the same axial stiffness, but 8.6 times the axial tensile strength, as those of the steel bars in segment C. Each segment of the deck slab was tested to failure under a central concentrated load, simulating the dual tire footprint of 250 × 500 mm dimension of a typical commercial vehicle. All segments failed in the punching shear mode. The failure loads for the four segments were found to be 808, 792, 882, and 756 kN, respectively; these failure loads are similar in magnitude to that of a 175 mm thick steel-free deck slab with steel straps having nearly the same cross-sectional area per metre length of the slab as those of the bottom transverse steel bars in the first three segments. The tests on the four segments of the full-scale model have confirmed that (i) only the bottom transverse reinforcement influences the load carrying capacity of a reinforced concrete deck slab and (ii) the stiffness of the bottom transverse reinforcement, rather than its strength, is of paramount importance.Key words: arching, deck slab, FRP, shake down, slab-on-girder bridge.


2006 ◽  
Vol 33 (11) ◽  
pp. 1426-1437 ◽  
Author(s):  
F Shahidi ◽  
L D Wegner ◽  
B F Sparling

Although the use of fibre-reinforced polymer (FRP) bars to replace steel in reinforced concrete is becoming more common, uncertainty remains concerning the long-term performance of FRP, including the effect of a sustained load on the bond between the FRP bars and the concrete. An experimental study was therefore undertaken to investigate the long-term durability of the bond for various types of bars embedded in concrete: one type of glass FRP, two types of carbon FRP, and conventional steel reinforcing bars. Pullout specimens were tested both statically to failure and under sustained loads for periods of up to 1 year while free-end slip was monitored. Results revealed lower short-term bond strengths for FRP bars relative to steel and significant variability in long-term bond-slip performance among FRP bars of different types. Post-testing investigations revealed damage to bar surfaces at the macroscopic level, as well as broken longitudinal fibres and damage to the surface coatings at the microscopic level.Key words: reinforced concrete, fibre-reinforced polymer (FRP), bond, creep, pullout, sustained loads.


2018 ◽  
Vol 199 ◽  
pp. 09010
Author(s):  
Gerrit Visser ◽  
Kees Van Ijselmuijden ◽  
Ernst Klamer ◽  
Gideon Van Zijl

This paper presents Fibre Reinforced Polymer (FRP) as a third alternative construction material worth considering when retrofitting a bridge structure. FRP offers the following advantages: lighter than steel and concrete, non-corrosive, low in maintenance, stronger than structural steel and fatigue resistant. FRP has been used in Europe and more specifically in the Netherlands for almost 20 years in the retrofitting of road bridges, in new pedestrian bridges, road bridges and lock doors for sluices. The Netherlands has recently developed the updated Dutch Design Code CUR Recommendation 96, which was published in December 2017. The CUR Recommendation 96 will form the basis for developing the Eurocode FRP which is expected to be published between 2020 and 2025. The use of FRP in retrofitting of bridges is presented using examples which demonstrate how existing concrete decks, and steel and concrete substructures could be retained by the use of FRP in the retrofitting solution. Due to FRP being a relatively unknown material within the South African bridge design field, the authors have embarked on an awareness campaign targeting academics, government bodies, suppliers, manufacturers and contractors, with the aim of presenting FRP as a third alternative construction material in the South African bridge fraternity.


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