Testing and Evaluation of Components for a Composite Bridge Deck

Abstract

In this paper the results of an experimental investigation conducted on 76 mm (3 in) square hollow pultruded glass fiber-reinforced polymer (GFRP) tubes and theirassemblies have been discussed. These GFRP tubes are used in the fabrication of an all-composite bridge deck that is designed for H-20 truckloads as specified by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO). The study isprincipally focused on the experimental characterization of flexure performance understatic loading of pultruded GFRP tubes made of unidirectional glass fibers. Several tests were conducted on single GFRP tubes followed by combinations of two tubes and a four-layered tube assembly. The tubes were bonded together using epoxy adhesive to build the assembly. The specimen details, experimental setup and instrumentation, testingprocedure, failure modes and the test results of these experiments have been discussed in detail. A preliminary design model of each test coupon was developed and analyzed using Finite Element Analysis (FEA). Experiments were conducted to corroborate the analytical design model. Comparison between the theoretical and experimental results showed good correlation. Experimental results show excellent linear elastic flexural and shear behavior up to failure. The stiffness of the tubes and their assemblies demonstrate that they can be used in the building of all-composite bridge decks and for otherinfrastructure applications. Failure modes for the samples under static flexural loads are described.

Department(s)

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering

Keywords and Phrases

Glass Fiber-Reinforced Polymer; Composite; Pultrusion; Bridge Deck; Finite Element Analysis

International Standard Serial Number (ISSN)

0731-6844

Document Type

Article - Journal

Document Version

Citation

File Type

text

Language(s)

English

Rights

© 2001 SAGE Publications, All rights reserved.

Publication Date

01 Jan 2001

Link to Full Text

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