TECHNICAL PAPERS
Apr 1, 2008

Modeling Technique for Honeycomb FRP Deck Bridges via Finite Elements

Publication: Journal of Structural Engineering
Volume 134, Issue 4

Abstract

Honeycomb structures have been used in different engineering fields. In civil engineering, honeycomb fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) structures have been used as bridge decks to rehabilitate highway bridges in the United States. In this work, a simplified finite-element modeling technique for honeycomb FRP bridge decks is presented. The motivation is the combination of the complex geometry of honeycomb FRP decks and computational limits, which may prevent modeling of these decks in detail. The results from static and modal analyses indicate that the proposed modeling technique provides a viable tool for modeling the complex geometry of honeycomb FRP bridge decks. The modeling of other bridge components (e.g., steel girders, steel guardrails, deck-to-girder connections, and pier supports) is also presented in this work.

Get full access to this article

View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.

Acknowledgments

The writers want to acknowledge Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (CAPES) Foundation/Brazilian Ministry Education for providing financial support for this research, and Dr. Jerry Plunkett from Kansas Structural Composites, Inc. (KSCI) for supplying FRP specimens.

References

AASHTO LRFD bridge specifications. (2005). 3rd Ed., American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, Washington, D.C.
Buannic, N., Cartraud, P., and Quesnel, T. (2003). “Homogenization of corrugated core sandwich structures.” Compos. Struct., 59, 299–312.
Chung, W., and Sotelino, E. (2006). “Three-dimensional finite element modeling of composite girder bridges.” Eng. Struct., 28, 63–71.
Davalos, J. F., Qiao, P., Xu, X. F., Robinson, J., and Barth, K. E. (2001). “Modeling and characterization of fiber reinforced plastic honeycomb sandwich panels for highway bridge applications.” Compos. Struct., 52, 441–452.
GangaRao, H., Halabe, U., and Shekar, V. (2002). “Specifications for FRP highway bridge applications.” Final Rep. Submitted as a Contract Requirement for FHWA Contract No. DTFH61-00-C-0021, December.
Hwai-Chung, W. (2003). “Failure analysis of FRP sandwich bus panels by finite element method.” Composites, Part B, 34(1), 51–58.
Izaksson, P., Krusper, A., and Gradin, P. A. (2007). “Shear correction for corrugated structures.” Compos. Struct., 80, 123–130.
Kansas Structural Composites Inc. (KSCI). (2006). ⟨http://www.ksci.com⟩.
Kaw, A. K. (2005). Mechanics of composite materials, 2nd Ed., Taylor & Francis, Boca Raton, Fla.
Kulak, G. L. (2005). High strength bolting for Canadian engineers, 1st Ed., Canadian Institute of Steel Construction, Quadratone Graphics LTD., Toronto, Ontario.
Kulak, G. L., Fisher, J. W., and Struik, J. H. A. (2001). Guide to design criteria for bolted and rivet joints, 2nd Ed., American Institute of Steel Construction, Inc., Chicago.
LRFD manual of steel construction. (2001). 3rd Ed., American Institute of Steel Construction, Chicago, Ill.
Peterman, R., Kalny, O., and Ramirez, G. (2000). “Performance of a repair technique for damaged FRP honeycomb bridge deck panels.” Rep. prepared for Kansas Structural Composites Inc. (KSCI).
Qiao, P. Z., and Wang, J. L. (2005a). “Mechanics of composite sinusoidal honeycomb cores.” J. Aerosp. Eng., 18(1), 42–50.
Qiao, P. Z., and Wang, J. L. (2005b). “Transverse shear stiffness of composite honeycomb cores and efficiency of material.” Mech. of Adv. Mater. Struct., 12(2), 159–172.
Qiao, P. Z., and Xu, X. F. (2005). “Refined analysis of torsion and in-plane shear of honeycomb sandwich structures.” J. Sandwich Struct. Mater., 7(4), 289–305.
Righman, J. E., Barth, K. E., and Davalos, J. F. (2004). “Development of an efficient connector system for fiber reinforced polymer bridge decks to steel girders.” J. Compos. Constr., 8(4), 279–288.
Robinson, J. (2001). “Analytical and experimental study of FRP honeycomb sandwich panels with sinusoidal core.” MS thesis, West Virginia Univ., Morgantown, W.Va.
Romanoff, J., and Varsta, P. (2007). “Bending response of web-core sandwich plates.” Compos. Struct., 81, 292–302.
Saha, G. C., Kalamkarov, A. L., and Giorgiades, A. V. (2007). “Effective elastic characteristics of honeycomb sandwich composite shells made of generally orthotropic materials.” Composites, Part A, 38, 1533–1546.
Salmon, G. C., and Johnson, J. E. (1996). Steel structures. Design and behavior, 4th Ed., Harper Collins College Publisher, New York.
Ugural, A. C. (1999). Stresses in plates and shells, 2nd Ed., McGraw-Hill, New York.

Information & Authors

Information

Published In

Go to Journal of Structural Engineering
Journal of Structural Engineering
Volume 134Issue 4April 2008
Pages: 572 - 580

History

Received: Jun 29, 2006
Accepted: Dec 10, 2007
Published online: Apr 1, 2008
Published in print: Apr 2008

Permissions

Request permissions for this article.

Notes

Note. Associate Editor: Finley A. Charney

Authors

Affiliations

Marcelo A. S. Machado
Postdoctorate Research Assistant, Escola Politécnica, Universidade de São Paulo, Brazil, Av.; and, Professor Almeida Prado, 83, tr 2, Cidade Universitária, São Paulo/SP, Brazil, 5508-900. E-mail: [email protected]
Elisa D. Sotelino, M.ASCE
Professor, Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Virginia Tech, 214 Patton Hall, Blacksburg, VA 24061. E-mail: [email protected]
Judy Liu, M.ASCE
Associate Professor, School of Civil Engineering, Purdue Univ., 550 Stadium Mall Dr., West Lafayette, IN 47907-2051. E-mail: [email protected]

Metrics & Citations

Metrics

Citations

Download citation

If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.

Cited by

View Options

Get Access

Access content

Please select your options to get access

Log in/Register Log in via your institution (Shibboleth)
ASCE Members: Please log in to see member pricing

Purchase

Save for later Information on ASCE Library Cards
ASCE Library Cards let you download journal articles, proceedings papers, and available book chapters across the entire ASCE Library platform. ASCE Library Cards remain active for 24 months or until all downloads are used. Note: This content will be debited as one download at time of checkout.

Terms of Use: ASCE Library Cards are for individual, personal use only. Reselling, republishing, or forwarding the materials to libraries or reading rooms is prohibited.
ASCE Library Card (5 downloads)
$105.00
Add to cart
ASCE Library Card (20 downloads)
$280.00
Add to cart
Buy Single Article
$35.00
Add to cart

Get Access

Access content

Please select your options to get access

Log in/Register Log in via your institution (Shibboleth)
ASCE Members: Please log in to see member pricing

Purchase

Save for later Information on ASCE Library Cards
ASCE Library Cards let you download journal articles, proceedings papers, and available book chapters across the entire ASCE Library platform. ASCE Library Cards remain active for 24 months or until all downloads are used. Note: This content will be debited as one download at time of checkout.

Terms of Use: ASCE Library Cards are for individual, personal use only. Reselling, republishing, or forwarding the materials to libraries or reading rooms is prohibited.
ASCE Library Card (5 downloads)
$105.00
Add to cart
ASCE Library Card (20 downloads)
$280.00
Add to cart
Buy Single Article
$35.00
Add to cart

Media

Figures

Other

Tables

Share

Share

Copy the content Link

Share with email

Email a colleague

Share