Feasibility Study of Prototype GFRP-Reinforced Wood Railroad Crosstie
Publication: Journal of Composites for Construction
Volume 3, Issue 2
Abstract
There is a need to develop innovative means for improving the performance and service life of wooden railroad crossties. This paper discusses the experimental testing and finite-element (FE) modeling of wood and polymer-reinforced wood samples for future application to the development of a prototype composite-reinforced wood railroad crosstie. Using glass fiber rovings, epoxy resin, and a resorcinol formaldehyde primer, wood cores are reinforced with a relatively thin layer of glass fiber–reinforced plastic (GFRP) composite by the filament winding process. Both wood and GFRP-wood samples are tested under combined static and moisture loading. The experimental results indicate that significant increases in stiffness (about 21% for dry and 25% for wet conditions) and strength (about 28% for dry and 70% for wet conditions) are achieved by wrapping wood cores with a relatively thin layer [1.78 mm (0.07 in.)] of composite. The effects of moisture on deflection and ultimate load were less pronounced (about 47%) for GFRP-wood samples than for similar control wood samples. The reinforcement provided a confinement effect, which resulted in a much more consistent and favorable failure mode for the reinforced samples compared with the wood samples. A 3D FE model of a beam is used to predict the linear response of the samples, and the predicted displacements and strains correlate well with experimental results. The experimentally verified FE model is subsequently used for a parametric study and design optimization of an actual full-size GFRP-wood crosstie. The experimental evaluation of test samples and design modeling study presented in this paper is used to provide design recommendations for the future development of full-size GFRP-wood crossties.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
References
1.
Arora, J. S. ( 1989). “IDESIGN USER'S MANUAL.” Tech. Rep. No. ODL-89.7, Optimal Design Lab., The University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa.
2.
Bodig, J., and Jayne, B. A. ( 1982). Mechanics of wood and wood composites. Van Nostrand Reinhold, New York.
3.
Dailey, T. H., Sonti, S. S., GangaRao, H. V. S., and Talakranti, D. R. ( 1996). “Using phenolics for wood composite hybrid members.” Proc., Composites Inst. 51st Annu. Conf. and Expo '96, Technomic Publishing, Lancaster, Pa.
4.
Davalos, J. F., Loferski, J. R., Holzer, S. M., and Yadama, Y. (1991). “Transverse isotropy modeling of 3-D Glulam timber beams.”J. Mat. in Civ. Engrg., ASCE, 3(2), 125–139.
5.
Davalos, J. F., Salim, H. A., Qiao, P., Lopez-Anido, R., and Barbero, E. J. ( 1996). “Analysis and design of pultruded FRP shapes under bending.” Composite: Part B, Engrg. J., 27(3,4), 295–305.
6.
Dickson, B. ( 1997). “Can wood crossties be wrapped with fibers and resins to last longer?” Crossties, 78(4), 25–41.
7.
Hetenyi, M. ( 1946). Beams on Elastic Foundation. University of Michigan Press, Ann Arbor, Mich.
8.
I-DEAS master series users' manual. (1996). Structural Dynamics Research Corp., Detroit, Mich.
9.
National design specifications (NDS). (1991). National Forest Products Assoc., Washington, D.C.
10.
Qiao, P., Davalos, J. F., and Zipfel, M. G. ( 1998a). “Modeling and optimal design of composite-reinforced wood railroad crossties.” Composite Struct., 41(1), 87–96.
11.
Qiao, P., Davalos, J. F., Trimble, B. S., Bender, R., and Dailey, T. H. ( 1998b). “Durability of composite/wood bonded interfaces in practical applications.” Proc. Int. Composites Expo '98—ICE '98, Technomic Publishing, Lancaster, Pa.
12.
Sonti, S. S., Davalos, J. F., Zipfel, M. G., and GangaRao, H. V. S. ( 1995). “A review of wood crosstie performance.” Forest Products J., 45(9), 55–58.
13.
Zipfel, M. G. ( 1997). “Development and evaluation of a compositereinforced wood railroad crosstie,” MS thesis, West Virginia University, Morgantown, W.Va.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Composites for Construction
Volume 3 • Issue 2 • May 1999
Pages: 92 - 99
History
Published online: May 1, 1999
Published in print: May 1999
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.