PLASTIC BRIDGE FOR CHINA HIGHWAY

A 20.24-meter-long bridge across the Beijing-Miyan Diversion Canal, 80 kilometers north of Beijing is the world's longest glass-fiber-reinforced plastic (GRP) highway bridge. The structure, completed in late 1982, consists of five 21-meter-long box girders cemented to each other by glass-fiber-reinforced plastic and resting on masonry abutments. Twenty-eight curved hollow cantilever boxes, glued to the outer sideplates of the two side girders, support a pair of pedestrian sidewalks, also made of GRP. The deadweight of the bridge is 30 tons, i.e. 80 percent lighter than an equivalent concrete bridge. All structural elements and units were fabricated in less than two months by 25 workers using brushes to glue successive layers of glassfiber cloth with polyester resins. All bridge elements exposed to the atmosphere are covered with an outer plate of coating resin to resist ultraviolet rays and aging of the GRP materials. Through annual structural tests on this experimental bridge, engineers hope to understand the changes that may occur over time in such a structure.

• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/oclc/25073860
• Corporate Authors:

  International Road Federation

  525 School Street, SW
  Washington, DC  United States  20024
• Publication Date: 1984-1

Media Info

• Pagination: p. 7
• Serial:
  • World Highways/Routes du Monde
  • Volume: 35
  • Issue Number: 1
  • Publisher: Route One Publishing Limited
  • ISSN: 0964-4598
  • Serial URL: http://www.worldhighways.com

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Construction management; Fiberglass; Highway bridges; Polyester resins; Reinforced plastics
• Uncontrolled Terms: Experimental design
• Subject Areas: Bridges and other structures; Construction; Design; Highways; I24: Design of Bridges and Retaining Walls;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00382986
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: May 30 1984 12:00AM