FEA of Complex Bridge System with FRP Composite Deck
Publication: Journal of Composites for Construction
Volume 10, Issue 1
Abstract
Innovative fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) composite highway bridge deck systems are gradually gaining acceptance in replacing damaged/deteriorated concrete and timber decks. FRP bridge decks can be designed to meet the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) HS-25 load requirements. Because a rather complex sub- and superstructure system is used to support the FRP deck, it is important to include the entire system in analyzing the deck behavior and performance. In this paper, we will present a finite-element analysis (FEA) that is able to consider the structural complexity of the entire bridge system and the material complexity of an FRP sandwich deck. The FEA is constructed using a two-step analysis approach. The first step is to analyze the global behavior of the entire bridge under the AASHTO HS-25 loading. The next step is to analyze the local behavior of the FRP deck with appropriate load and boundary conditions determined from the first step. For the latter, a layered FEA module is proposed to compute the internal stresses and deformations of the FRP sandwich deck. This approach produces predictions that are in good agreement with experimental measurements.
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Acknowledgments
The writers are very grateful to the Federal Highway Administration for funding this research project. We are also indebted to Hardcore Composites for providing the panel test data used in the study. The writers wish to thank the reviewers for many useful suggestions.
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Composites for Construction
Volume 10 • Issue 1 • February 2006
Pages: 79 - 86
Copyright
© 2006 ASCE.
History
Received: Mar 23, 2004
Accepted: May 31, 2005
Published online: Feb 1, 2006
Published in print: Feb 2006
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