3D Orthogonal Woven Glass Fiber Reinforced Polymeric Bridge Deck: Fabrication and Experimental Investigation

3D Orthogonal Woven Glass Fiber Reinforced Polymeric Bridge Deck: Fabrication and Experimental Investigation
Author:
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Total Pages:
Release: 2004
Genre:
ISBN:

Rapid deterioration of civil infrastructure has created one of the major challenges facing the construction industry. In recent years, fiber reinforced polymers (FRP) have emerged as a potential solution to the tribulations associated with deficient bridge decks. The main objective of the proposed research is to adapt the 3-D orthogonal 3WeavingTM process to develop an innovative completely woven fiber reinforced polymeric bridge deck. The research accomplished fabricating a unique 3WeavingTM loom capable of weaving an E-glass preform which 'puffs out' into an open cell truss-like structure aimed to overcome each the weaknesses of its predecessors. The project succeeded in providing fiber reinforcement through the connection of the truss core components with the outer composite deck skins. The loom provided continuous fiber reinforcement through these top and bottom skins. And the innovative fiber architecture provided inplane fiber reinforcement in each of the structural components. Two 5' long by 15' wide deck preforms were produced: the first 1 1⁄2 thick and the second 3' thick. In addition, a 2' long by 12' wide by 1 1⁄2 thick non-truss composite deck was produced for comparison. The truss oriented decks utilized triangular cut shafts of Balsa as core inserts, and the non-truss deck maintained a rectangular block of Balsa core; each deck was infused with an epoxy resin; and concrete was cast atop. Each of the decks was tested for stiffness and strength in three-point bend. The stiffness tests comprised loading and unloading the deck in 2 kip increments up to 22 kips and using linear regression analysis to ascertain any degradation in stiffness. The strength tests consisted of loading the deck until failure. The testing exemplified the importance of the attachment of the core structural components to the outer composite deck skins and demonstrated a resistance of delamination of the core to the outer skins and the outer skins to themselves.

Fabrication and Behavior of 3D Orthogonal Woven FRPD Oncrete Bridge Deck

Fabrication and Behavior of 3D Orthogonal Woven FRPD Oncrete Bridge Deck
Author:
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Total Pages:
Release: 2004
Genre:
ISBN:

In recent years, glass fiber reinforced polymer bridge decks have been considered as an alternative to conventional steel and concrete bridge decking. The research presented in this thesis investigated the behavior of an innovative 3-dimensionally woven bridge deck. The proposed bridge decks were woven at a local textile company, using the 3-D capabilities of the company. Typical decks consisted of two skins of E-glass fabric, and each skin consisted of two fabric layers. The fabric was woven with warp, weft, and vertical z-yarns. Additional z-yarns were used to form a longitudinal joint between the skins. Balsa wood cores were inserted between the skins and the entire deck was vacuum infused with an epoxy resin system. The research included fabrication of two deck panels with appropriate shear connectors to provide composite action with the top concrete slab. The study included a special study to investigate the behavior of three types of shear connector configurations. Modeling of the behavior is based on the test results of the measured material properties. These tests included tensile coupon testing, fiber volume fraction by burn-off method, tensile tests of the steel reinforcement, and compressive strength of the concrete to define the complete stress-strain relationship of the concrete using concrete cylinders. Predictions of the behavior were based on simple flexural member behavior and finite element analysis using ANSYS computer program. A U.S. patent is currently filed for the proposed innovative bridge deck panel.

Fabrication and Behavior of Three-Dimensionally Woven Glass Fiber Reinforced Polymeric Bridge Deck

Fabrication and Behavior of Three-Dimensionally Woven Glass Fiber Reinforced Polymeric Bridge Deck
Author:
Publisher:
Total Pages:
Release: 2003
Genre:
ISBN:

Deterioration of many bridge decks due to corrosion of steel triggered civil engineering researchers to consider other alternatives to the current conventional reinforced concrete and steel bridge decks. During the past two decades, researchers have intensively investigated the use of fiber reinforced polymeric (FRP) bridge decks as an alternative to the current conventional concrete and steel bridge decks. This research explored the feasibility of three-dimensional woven glass fiber reinforced bridge decks (3-D GFRP), fabricated using textile machine and resin infusion process. The research investigated the mechanical properties of 3-D GFRP including: Tensile properties, compression properties, and flexural properties. Three bridge decks were fabricated and tested up to failure to access the applicability of this new concept for bridge deck. The use of epoxy resin versus vinyl ester resin in the fabrication process was examined. For design purposes, the overall elastic modulus of the 3-D GFRP has been investigated using various methods. Test results confirm the effectiveness of the proposed concept in producing bridge decks for highway bridges. The use of 3-D weaving technique eliminates the typical delamination observed for the current pultruded GFRP bridge decks. The behavior of the 3-D GFRP bridge decks indicated promising potential, and lead to filing a US patent for this innovative concept in coordination with the local textile company collaborated in providing the bridge deck.

Development, Testing, and Analytical Modeling of Fiber-reinforced Polymer Bridge Deck Panels

Development, Testing, and Analytical Modeling of Fiber-reinforced Polymer Bridge Deck Panels
Author: Hesham Tuwair
Publisher:
Total Pages: 314
Release: 2015
Genre: Fiber-reinforced concrete
ISBN:

"A fiber-reinforced, polyurethane foam core was developed, tested, and evaluated as a possible replacement for the costly honeycomb core that is currently used to manufacture fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) bridge deck panels. Replacing these panels would reduce both initial production costs and construction times while also enhancing structural performance. Experimental, numerical, and analytical investigations were each conducted. Three different polyurethane foam (PU) configurations were used for the inner core during the study's first phase. These configurations consisted of a high-density PU foam (Type 1), a gridwork of thin, interconnecting, glass fiber/resin webs that formed a bidirectional gridwork in-filled with a low-density PU foam (Type 2), and a trapezoidal-shaped, low-density PU foam that utilized E-glass web layers (Type 3). Based on the experimental results of this phase, the Type 3 core was recommended to move forward to the second phase of the study, where a larger-scale version of the Type 3, namely "−mid-scale panels," were tested both statically and dynamically. Analytical models and finite element analysis (FEA) were each conducted during a third phase. Analytical models were used to predict critical facesheet wrinkling that had been observed during phase two. A three-dimensional model using ABAQUS was developed to analyze each panel's behavior. A parametric study considering a wide variety of parameters was also conducted to further evaluate the behavior of the prototype panel. The fourth phase of this research investigated the performance of Type 3 panels under exposure to various environmental conditions to duplicate seasonal effects in Midwestern states. The results gathered from these four phases showed that the proposed Type 3 panel is a cost effective alternative to both honeycomb and reinforced concrete bridge decks."--Abstract, page iv.

Experimental Investigation of Fiber-reininforced Polymer Composite Bridge Deck Panel in Cold Regions

Experimental Investigation of Fiber-reininforced Polymer Composite Bridge Deck Panel in Cold Regions
Author: Usha Choppali
Publisher:
Total Pages: 304
Release: 2005
Genre: Bridges
ISBN:

"To build highway bridges in cold regions like Alaska, cast-in-place concrete has been found to be difficult and expensive, especially in winter seasons. Decked Bulb-Tee bridge members can be heavy and the deck cannot be replaced. On the other hand, fiber-reinforced plastic (FRP) composite materials offer a great opportunity in this area. The primary technical barrier to the use of composite materials in infrastructure applications is lack of data on environmental durability. The present study presents experimental load and strain results of a FRP composite panel that was subjected to cold temperatures. The FRP panel consists of an upper and a bottom laminate tied by a honeycomb core, which was produced by sequentially bonding a flat sheet to a corrugated sheet. Specifically, the objective of this research was to understand the effects of low temperature and low-temperature thermal cycling on the performance of FRP composite bridge deck panels in cold regions. This was achieved by analyzing static tests and results for a FRP deck panel. The research results reported herein showed an increase in stiffness as temperature was lowered up to a certain point, and a reverse trend at a further lower temperature"--Leaf iii.