Design Recommendations for a FRP Bridge Deck Supported on Steel Superstructure
Publication: Journal of Composites for Construction
Volume 12, Issue 6
Abstract
No appropriate provisions from either AASHTO Standard (2002) or AASHTO LRFD (2004) bridge design specifications are available for the design of fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP)-deck-on-steel-superstructure bridges. In this research, a parametric study using the finite-element method (FEM) is conducted to examine two design issues concerning the design of FRP-deck-on-steel-superstructure bridges, namely deck relative deflection and load distribution factor (LDF). Results show that the strip method specified in AASHTO LRFD specification as an approximate method of analysis, can also be applied to FRP decks as a practical method. However, different strip width equations have to be determined by either FEM or experimental methods for different types of FRP decks. In this study, one such equation has been derived for the Strongwell deck. In addition, both FEM results and experimental measurements show that the AASHTO LDF equations for glued laminated timber decks on steel stringers provide good estimations of LDF for FRP-deck-on-steel-superstructure bridges. Finally, it is found that the lever rule can be used as an appropriately conservative design method to predict the LDF of FRP-deck-on-steel-superstructure bridges.
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Acknowledgments
The writers gratefully acknowledge the financial support of the Federal Highway Administration’s (FHWA) Innovative Bridge Research and Construction Program, the technical and financial support of the Virginia Transportation Research Council (Contract No. UNSPECIFIEDVTRC-MOA-03-010), and Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT). The continued support of Strongwell Corporation, Bristol, Virginia for the application of FRP composites in bridges is greatly appreciated.
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Composites for Construction
Volume 12 • Issue 6 • December 2008
Pages: 660 - 668
Copyright
© 2008 ASCE.
History
Received: Jul 13, 2007
Accepted: Oct 22, 2007
Published online: Dec 1, 2008
Published in print: Dec 2008
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