Fatigue Strengthening of Steel Bridges with Adhesively Bonded CFRP Laminates: Case Study
Publication: Journal of Composites for Construction
Volume 24, Issue 3
Abstract
One of the aims of applying sustainable development to bridge infrastructure was to provide bridge owners with strengthening solutions that could lead to increased service life for existing structures. In the case of steel bridges, the assessment of the remaining service life is most often linked to the determination of structural deterioration caused by corrosion and fatigue. Damage caused by fatigue is very difficult to assess before crack initiation and is more likely to occur in older structures, where the phenomenon was not taken into account in designs before 1970. In addition, old steel materials display more brittle behavior. To meet these challenges, a preventive methodology for fatigue strengthening of steel structures was developed. The method begins with scheduling a fatigue design analysis of the existing construction to determine the most fatigue damage exposed construction elements of the bridge. The remaining fatigue life of these elements can be increased with a strengthening solution based on the use of adhesively bonded ultra-high modulus (UHM) carbon fiber–reinforced polymer (CFRP) plates, which were applied to a steel surface before failure indicators such as cracks arise. This article presents the development process of this preventive method and a demonstrative application to an existing bridge (Jarama Bridge). Strain measurement was carried out to verify the theoretical expectations of the reinforcement. Different parameters were studied, including the influence of low traffic volumes during the reinforcement application. The results proved the efficiency of this system for the structure under study.
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Acknowledgments
The authors wish to acknowledge Epsilon Composite for supporting this study. This work is part of the FASSTbridge project. This project has received funding from the European Union's Seventh Framework Programme for research, technological development and demonstration under grant agreement no. 31109806.0008. FASSTbridge is co-funded by Funding Partners of The ERA-NET as well as Infravation and the European Commission. The Funding Partners of the Infravation 2014 Call are: Ministerie van Infrastructure en Milieu, Rijkswaterstaat, Bundesministerium für Verkehr, Bau und Stadtentwicklung, Danish Road Directorate, Satens Vegvesen Vegdirektoratet, Trafikverket—TRV, Vegaderdin, Ministère de l’Ecologie, du Développement Durable et de l’Energie, Centro para el Desarrollo Tecnologico Industrial, ANAS S.p.A., Netivei, Israel—National Transport Infrastructure Company Ltd, Federal Highway Administration USDOT.
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Journal of Composites for Construction
Volume 24 • Issue 3 • June 2020
Copyright
© 2020 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Feb 22, 2019
Accepted: Oct 14, 2019
Published online: Apr 1, 2020
Published in print: Jun 1, 2020
Discussion open until: Sep 1, 2020
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