Development of a Specification for Bridge Seismic Retrofit with Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer Composites

The U.S. Interstate 80 bridge over State Street in Salt Lake City is very near the Wasatch fault, which is active and capable of producing large earthquakes. The bridge was designed and built in 1965 according to the 1961 American Association of State Highway Officials specifications, which did not consider earthquake-induced forces or displacements. The bridge consists of reinforced concrete bents supporting steel plate welded girders. The bents are supported on cast-in-place concrete piles and pile caps. A seismic retrofit design was developed using carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) composites, which was implemented in the summer of 2000 and the summer of 2001, to improve the displacement ductility of the bridge. The seismic retrofit included column jacketing, as well as wrapping of the bent cap and bent cap-column joints for confinement, flexural, and shear strength increase. This paper describes the specifications developed for the CFRP composite column jackets and composite bent wrap. The specifications included provisions for materials, constructed thickness based on strength capacity, and an environmental durability reduction factor. Surface preparation, finish coat requirements, quality assurance provisions, which included sampling and testing, and constructability issues regarding the application of fiber composite materials in the retrofit of concrete bridges are also described.     

Fatigue Behavior of Composite-Reinforced Glulam Bridge Girders

While composite-reinforced glulam beams have been used in several bridge demonstration projects, knowledge of their fatigue behavior is quite limited. In this study, the response of full- and partial-length fiberglass composite-reinforced glulam beams under fatigue cycling followed by quasi-static bending to failure is examined. To mimic anticipated in-service conditions, a hygrothermal cycling regime was developed that replicates the effective stress history of a 50-year service life with a 55-day period in a moisture-controlled kiln. In addition, some of the beams had initial delaminations introduced between the reinforcing and the wood similar to those observed in field investigations of reinforced glulam bridge girders. For the partial-length reinforced beams, reinforcing with both confined and unconfined ends was considered. The results of the postfatigue tests to failure were compared with the expected strength. In addition, the stiffness of the beams was monitored during the fatigue cycling. It was found that, with the exception of the unconfined, partial-length reinforced beams, all specimens had a residual strength that compared favorably with the expected strength. Further, neither the preconditioning nor the fatigue cycling had an appreciable impact on the stiffness of the reinforced beams. The unconfined, partial-length reinforced beams did not perform well under fatigue loading and do not seem to be a viable alternative for use as reinforced glulam bridge girders.     

Repair of Full-Scale Timber Bridge Chord Members by Shear Spiking

The addition of vertically oriented shear spikes (fiberglass reinforced polymer rods) was shown to increase the effective stiffness of the stringers of a full-scale timber bridge chord specimen. Results found from the flexural load testing of a full-scale timber bridge chord laboratory specimen are presented. Reinforcement was provided with 19?mm diameter shear spikes bonded to the wood by an epoxy resin. The bridge chord specimen was intentionally damaged to simulate degradation. Shear spikes were then installed from the top of the member into predrilled holes to provide horizontal shear resistance and to improve the flexural effective stiffness. Results from the testing showed that with the insertion of five sets of shear spikes the average flexural effective stiffness recovered in the four stringers of the chord was 91.6%.     

Timber Beams Strengthened with GFRP Bars: Development and Applications

Repair and rehabilitation of infrastructure is becoming increasingly important for bridges due to material deterioration and limited capacity to accommodate current load levels. An experimental program was undertaken to study the flexural behavior of creosote-treated sawn Douglas fir timber beams strengthened with glass fiber-reinforced polymer (GFRP) bars. Twenty-two half-scale and four full-scale timber beams strengthened with GFRP were tested to failure. The percent reinforcement ratios were between 0.27 and 0.82%. Additional unreinforced timber beams were tested as control specimens. The results have shown that using the proposed experimental technique changed the failure mode from brittle tension to compression failure, and flexural strength increased by 18 to 46%. Research findings indicate the use of near-surface GFRP bars overcomes the effect of local defects in the timber and enhances the bending strength of the members. Based on the experimental results, an analytical model is proposed to predict the flexural capacity of both unreinforced and GFRP-reinforced timber beams. The article also reviews implementation of the proposed technique for strengthening a timber bridge near Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.     

Experimental Study of Seismic Behaviors of As-Built and Carbon Fiber Reinforced Plastics Repaired Reinforced Concrete Bridge Columns

In order to reliably obtain seismic responses of as-built and repaired reinforced concrete bridge columns under near-fault ground motions, pseudodynamic testing of two bridge columns with a reduced scale of 2/5 was performed. Pseudodynamic test results reveal that a ductile member may have no chance to entirely develop its ductile behavior to dissipate seismic energy, because it may suddenly be destroyed by a significant pulse-like wave. The seismic performance of the two damaged bridge columns can be recovered after repair with carbon fiber reinforced plastics composite sheets. It is also experimentally confirmed that the flexural failure moment obtained from the pseudodynamic test is in good agreement with the plastic moment predicted by the ACI 318 code. As pseudodynamic test results are believed to be more accurate than numerical solutions, they can be considered as reference solutions in developing a finite-element model. An identical specimen was tested under cyclic loading to estimate basic properties of these columns, such as shear strength, flexural strength, and ductility, so that the seismic responses obtained from pseudodynamic tests can be thoroughly discussed. Furthermore, its hysteretic response may also be used to match a mathematical model to simulate the very complicated load-displacement relation for analysis.     

Observations of Structural Damage Caused by Hurricane Katrina on the Mississippi Gulf Coast

The loads associated with Hurricane Katrina led to the destruction or severe damage of approximately 130,000 homes and over 200 deaths in the state of Mississippi. This paper discusses the results of a field inspection of structural damage along the state’s Gulf Coast area caused by this hurricane. It was found that reinforced concrete, steel frame, and heavy timber structures generally performed well, with minimal structural damage. Precast concrete, light frame wood, and bridge structures generally performed poorly. Nonstructural components of all building types, in particular facades and interior partitions subjected to storm surge, were typically destroyed. For various structures, the primary cause of failure was found to be insufficient connection strength. A comparison of Katrina’s storm surge and wind loads is made to those specified in current design standards. It was found that Katrina’s forces exceeded those specified in design standards in many parts of the state.     

Shape Effect on the Performance of Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer Wraps

At present, fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) composite materials are extensively used to strengthen concrete structures and a main application is wrapping compression members such as building and bridge columns for improved strength and ductility. In this case, FRP laminates are intended to provide confinement to the concrete and the cross section shape plays an important role on the effectiveness of the method. The primary purpose of this paper is to introduce a test device and a test method designed to determine the effect of corner radius on the strength of the FRP laminate and on the distribution of the resulting radial stress on the substrate material. Various curvatures were investigated. In the proposed device, they can be realized by using interchangeable inserts. Strain distribution around the corner, failure load, and failure mode of the FRP laminate were monitored and analyzed. The stress concentration in the laminate is studied numerically using the finite element method and compared with experimental results. The relationship between radial stress distribution and corner radius is determined to provide guidance in practical cases.     

Design Optimization Procedures for Fiber Reinforced Plastic Bridges

A simplified optimization procedure is described for a novel fiber reinforced plastic bridge system. The bridge system is modeled using a transformed anisotropic plate that is discretized using the Ritz method. This provides a structural model that is incorporated into a stiffness-based optimization algorithm using the optimality criteria method. The resulting procedure provides a useful design tool that can be used to produce a minimum weight design without resorting to finite-element analysis, which is only used to check the strength of the final design. A two-lane highway bridge serves as a demonstration problem.     

Deck-Mounted Steel Post Barrier System

An existing mountable safety barrier system, previously crash tested successfully on a wood bridge deck, was evaluated for use on a fiber reinforced plastic (FRP) bridge deck. In an attempt to avoid expensive full-scale crash testing, components of the existing system were evaluated using worst case conditions on two dynamic bogie crash tests and a series of computer simulations using nonlinear finite-element analysis. Simulation results closely approximated the physical results, with both displaying similar deformation, damage, and force levels. Both testing and simulation demonstrated that the barrier should function sufficiently if used on the FRP deck system. Further, the development of an accurate model makes it possible to evaluate the potential success of the existing system for use on other bridge decks. As an example, a more rigid bridge deck, similar to reinforced concrete, was evaluated. Results showed that due to the stiffer deck, more of the impact energy must be absorbed by the posts and attachment hardware, resulting in significantly more deformation than when used on the flexible FRP deck.     

Strength and Serviceability of FRP Grid Reinforced Bridge Decks

The research presented in this paper evaluates the flexural performance of bridge deck panels reinforced with 2D fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) grids. Two different FRP grids were investigated, one reinforced with a hybrid of glass and carbon fibers and a second grid reinforced with carbon fibers only. Laboratory measured load-deflection, load-strain (reinforcement and concrete), cracking, and failure behavior are presented in detail. Conclusions regarding failure mode, limit-state strength, serviceability, and deflection compatibility relative to AASHTO mandated criteria are reported. Test results indicate that bridge decks reinforced with FRP grids will be controlled by serviceability limit state and not limit-state ultimate strength. The low axial stiffness of FRP results in large service load flexural deflections and reduced shear strength. In as much as serviceability limits design, overreinforcement is recommended to control deflection violation. Consequently, limit-state flexural strength will be compression controlled for which reduced service stresses or ACI unified compression failure strength reduction factors are recommended.     

Seismic Behavior of Posttensioned Concrete-Filled Fiber Tubes

Precast segmental construction technique is an excellent candidate for economic rapid bridge construction in highly congested urban environments and environmentally sensitive regions. This paper presents the seismic behavior of four hybrid segmental columns consisting of precast posttensioned concrete-filled fiber tubes (PPT-CFFTs). A fifth monolithic column was also tested as a reference specimen. The columns were tested under increasing lateral loading cycles in a displacement control. The columns had circular cross section diameters of 203 mm and heights of 1,524 mm each. The parameters investigated included different construction details and energy dissipation systems. The PPT-CFFT columns developed lateral strength and deformation capacity comparable to those of the monolithic reinforced concrete column. However, the PPT-CFFT columns dissipated smaller hysteretic energy compared to that of the monolithic reinforced concrete column. Finally, a simple model was used to predict the backbone curves of segmental columns. The model was conservative and it predicted approximately 75% of the measured ultimate strength and displacement.     

Preservative Effect on Stress-Laminated Southern Pine Bridge Decks

Stress-laminated timber bridge decks have gained increasing popularity in the United States in recent years. As with all wood exposed to the environment, wood for these decks must be treated with preservatives. There has been reluctance to build chromated-copper-arsenate (CCA) –treated wood bridges due to concerns about dimensional stability. Because no research has been undertaken to investigate the use of CCA-treated southern pine in stress-laminated bridge decks, a good resource for economic rural bridges has remained untapped. The objective of this study was to evaluate the performance of various wood preservatives on stress-laminated southern pine bridge decks. A total of nine decks with seven different preservatives were built and exposed to the environment for more than 2 years. Force levels in prestressing bars and wood moisture contents from each deck were continuously monitored. It was found that the short-term variations in the bar stress levels are less for decks with oil-type preservatives, as compared to CCA preservatives. The long-term performance for decks with both preservative types was found to be similar. The anchorage effect on the deck performance was found to be negligible.     

Seismic Performance of Concrete-Filled FRP Tube Columns for Bridge Substructure

A set of column-footing subassemblies were prepared to investigate construction feasibility and seismic performance of structural joints for concrete-filled fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) tubes (CFFT) as bridge substructure. Based on the common practices of the precast industry and previous research on CFFT, the test matrix included a control reinforced concrete (RC) column and three CFFT columns, all with similar RC footings. The three CFFT columns included a cast-in-place CFFT column with starter bars, a precast CFFT column with grouted starter bars, and a precast CFFT column with unbonded posttensioned rods. The columns were subjected to a constant axial load and a pseudostatic lateral load. All proposed joints proved feasible in construction and robust under extreme load conditions. FRP tube, when secured properly in the footing, showed great influence on the seismic performance of the column by providing both longitudinal reinforcement and hoop confinement to the core concrete. The CFFT columns exhibited significant improvement over traditional RC columns in both ultimate strength and ductility. The study also showed that practices of the precast concrete industry can be easily and effectively implemented for the CFFT column construction.     

Flexural Lateral Load Distribution Characteristics of Sandwich Plate System Bridges: Parametric Investigation

The sandwich plate system (SPS) is a relatively new bridge deck system that consists of steel face plates bonded to a rigid polyurethane core. The decks are thin, lightweight, and modular in design and can be tailored to numerous applications. This system provides an excellent alternative for the rapid construction and rehabilitation of bridge decks. With any new system, there exists some uncertainty in the design procedures as a result of the limited population for comparison. This paper presents the results of a finite-element parametric investigation of the lateral load distribution characteristics of SPS bridges. The parametric study primarily focuses on the influence of deck thickness on distribution behavior as compared to conventional reinforced concrete decks. Results from the study demonstrate that the inherent flexibility of a thin SPS deck yields larger distribution factors (up to 20%) than a typical reinforced concrete deck, but these distribution factors can still be conservatively estimated with current AASHTO LRFD methods. Additional comparisons indicate that the distribution behavior of SPS bridges can also be estimated with the equations proposed by the NCHRP 12-62 project.     

Effect of fiber spatial arrangement on the transverse strength of titanium matrix composites

The transverse strength of titanium matrix composites (Ti-6Al-4V-SiC) with rectangular and hexagonal fiber arrangements was measured as a function of fiber volume fraction and cladding thickness. A net-section model was also developed to predict the strength as a function of fiber spatial arrangement. The model predictions are in good agreement with experimental results and recent finite element modeling (FEM) simulations. The data and model show that the transverse strength, for a fixed net fiber volume fraction, is strongly dependent on the cladding thickness, testing direction, and fiber spatial arrangement. The implications are particularly important for the design of rotating components such as rings or disks. For example, the transverse strength in the radial and axial directions can be tailored by using a rectangular fiber array and varying the cell aspect ratio. Another simple strategy for increasing the transverse strength, for an equivalent net fiber volume fraction, is to increase the cladding thickness. For some fiber arrangements, a locally high volume fraction composite surrounded by a thick cladding can be significantly stronger than a composite with a uniform fiber distribution.     

Concrete-Filled Square and Rectangular FRP Tubes under Axial Compression

This paper presents results of an experimental study on the behavior of square and rectangular concrete-filled fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) tubes (CFFTs) under concentric compression. FRP tubes were designed as column confinement reinforcement and were manufactured using unidirectional carbon fiber sheets with fibers oriented in the hoop direction. The effects of the thickness and corner radius of the tube, sectional aspect ratio, and concrete strength on the axial behavior of CFFTs were investigated experimentally. Test results indicate that FRP confinement leads to substantial improvement in the ductility of both square and rectangular columns. Confinement provided by the FRP tube may also improve the axial load-carrying capacity of the square and rectangular columns if the confinement effectiveness of the FRP tube is sufficiently high. The results also indicate that the confinement effectiveness of FRP tubes is higher in square columns than in rectangular columns, and in both sections the effectiveness of confinement increases with the corner radius. Furthermore, for a given confinement level, improvement observed on the axial behavior of concrete due to confinement decreases with increasing concrete strength.     

Moment Redistribution in FRP and Steel-Plated Reinforced Concrete Beams

Research on retrofitting reinforced concrete (RC) beams and slabs using externally bonded (EB) fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) or steel plates has reached the stage where the flexural strength can be determined with confidence. Research has also shown that EB plated structures tend to debond at relatively low strains and to such an extent that guidelines often preclude moment redistribution which can severely restrict the use of plating. However, recent research on retrofitting using FRP and steel near surface mounted plates (NSM) has shown that NSM plates tend to debond at high strains which can allow substantial amounts of moment redistribution. A moment redistribution approach has been developed for both NSM and EB plated beams that allows for the wide range of debonding strains that can occur. This allows RC beams to be retrofitted for both strength and ductility which should help expand the use of this convenient and inexpensive form of retrofitting.     

金属纤维毡形变机理与孔隙特性关系研究

以直径6μm和22μm的不锈钢纤网为原料,通过叠配、高温烧结一定厚度的金属纤维毡,测试不同压缩强度下,金属纤维毡应变量与孔隙特性的变化,对比变形后纤维毡截面的微观形貌,研究金属纤维毡变形机理与孔隙特性的关系。结果表明：压缩初期,22μm粗纤维层形变量大,承担整体变形的主要部分,其孔隙变化对过滤性能影响较小。压缩中期,22μm粗纤维层致密化,整体变形承担部分转为6μm细纤维层,孔隙变化对过滤性能影响更大,整个压缩过程表现为粗纤维层—细纤维层—粗纤维层交替的变形机理。     

Fiber Reinforced Polymer Composite–Wood Pile Interface Characterization by Push-Out Tests

Structural restoration of spliced or damaged wood piles with fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) composite shells requires that shear forces be transferred between the wood core and the encasing composite shells. When a repaired wood pile is loaded, shear stresses develop between the wood pile and the FRP composite shell through the grouting material. Alternatively, shear force transfer can be developed through mechanical connectors. The objective of this study was to characterize the interfaces in wood piles repaired with FRP composite shells and grout materials. Two interfaces were studied: wood pile/grout material and a grout material/innermost FRP composite shell. A set of design parameters that control the response of both interfaces was identified: (1) extent of reduction of cross section of wood pile due to deterioration (necking); (2) type of grout material (cement-based or polyurethane); (3) use of mechanical connectors; and (4) addition of frictional coating on the innermost shell. Push-out tests by compression loading were performed to characterize the interfaces and discriminate the effect of the design parameters. The outcome of the push-out tests was evaluation of the shear stress and force versus slip response and characterization of the failure mechanism. A set of repair systems that represent different combinations of the design parameters was fabricated and the interfaces evaluated. It was found that the combination of cement-based grout and polymer concrete overlay on the innermost shell provided the most efficient shear force-slip response. A simplified piecewise linear model of shear stress versus slip at the wood/grout and grout/FRP composite interfaces with and without mechanical connectors is proposed to synthesize the experimental response.     

Physical Properties of Glass Fiber Reinforced Polymer Rebars in Compression

Forty-five glass fiber reinforced polymer (GFRP) rebars were tested in compression to determine their ultimate strength and Young’s modulus. The rebars (or C-bars), produced by Marshall Industries Composites, Inc., had an outside diameter of 15 mm (#15 rebar), and unbraced lengths varying from 50 to 380 mm. A compression test method was developed to conduct the experiments. Three failure modes, that are directly related to the unbraced length of the rebar, are identified as crushing, buckling, and combined buckling and crushing. The crushing region represents the failure mode a GFRP rebar would experience when confined in concrete under compression. The experimental results showed that the ultimate compressive strength of the #15 GFRP rebar failing by crushing is approximately 50% of the ultimate tensile strength. Based on a very limited number of tests, in which strain readings were acceptable, Young’s modulus in compression was found to be approximately the same as in tension.