In
the context of the state of deterioration of North America’s bridges,
researchers have been working on improving
the performance of current designs.
All-FRP bridge slabs have attracted increased interest since the mid 90s. These
slabs offer notable advantages over traditional
reinforced concrete slabs.
These advantages include lighter weight, better durability and faster
installation among others. This research focuses on the development of a
thermoplastic fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) bridge slab for the replacement of
wood logs that are part of the deck structure of a popular steel/timber bridge
design. Different structural profiles have been explored through finite element
analysis and two slab
prototypes have been fabricated. These full-scale
prototypes have dimensions of approximately 3200mm×1200mm×250mm and cover two
lateral spans. Both prototypes were tested under concentrated static loading
and one was subjected to above two million cycles of loading. The slab deflection
and FRP laminate stress levels under loading were recorded. The retention of
the slab rigidity was monitored at regular intervals during cyclic fatigue
loading. No significant rigidity loss was observed during this period.