Terrestrial Applications of a Composite Lattice Space Structure

This paper addresses the requirements (codes and softwares) for building a composite (fiber/matrix) pedestrian bridge, that is being planned for the campus of the university of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM. The bridge is comprised of pultruded beams as the main span members. An `isogrid" deck integrated with the pultruded beams will support the pedestrian load. The governing design codes were first explored and the requirements were implemented in a spreadsheet software. Materials and component fabrication is based on experience gathered from the personnel at the Air Force Phillips laboratory, Albuquerque, NM. A commercial finite element code was used to analyze the isogrid structure to help design the deck in accordance with code requirements. Components were tested to determine their mechanical properties. The elastic modulus of pultruded members was also determined independently from ultrasonic inspection to address the feasibility of using this method for in-service monitoring.