Development of a Short-Span Fiber-Reinforced Composite Bridge for Emergency Response and Military Applications
Publication: Journal of Bridge Engineering
Volume 13, Issue 4
Abstract
A continued desire for increased mobility in the aftermath of natural disasters, or on the battlefield, has lead to the need for improved light-weight bridging solutions. Currently within the United States military there is a need for a light weight bridging system for crossing short-span gaps up to in length. The bridge must be capable of supporting up to Military Load Class 30 (MLC 30) vehicles including palletized load system (PLS) truck vehicles under extreme temperatures and loading conditions. This paper describes the design and analysis of a carbon/epoxy composite sandwich bridging system to satisfy the United States Army’s short-span gap crossing needs. The paper also includes a description of the fabrication of the bridge treadways, full scale proof testing of the treadways, and field testing using a fully loaded PLS truck. The study shows the bridging system to satisfy the design requirements and to have sufficient strength to support MLC 30 and PLS truck vehicles.
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Acknowledgments
The writers would like to acknowledge the financial support provided by the Office of Naval ResearchONR and U.S. Army TACOM. They also wish to acknowledge Seemann Composites Inc. for fabricating the treadways, Webcore Technologies Inc. for the donation of core materials, and Rhino Linings for application of the polyurethane wear surface.
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Bridge Engineering
Volume 13 • Issue 4 • July 2008
Pages: 388 - 397
Copyright
© 2008 ASCE.
History
Received: Mar 23, 2007
Accepted: Sep 24, 2007
Published online: Jul 1, 2008
Published in print: Jul 2008
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