Fiberglass Composite Materials Specification Redevelopment

Polymer based structural members have shown to be economically viable when used in marine environments. These polymer materials have higher initial cost than traditional materials (steel, concrete, and timber), but generate return on this investment with longer useful lives. These materials are currently being implemented in a variety of geotechnical structures in the state of New Jersey. This research was performed because the requirements of Section 916 of the New Jersey Department of Transportation Standard Specifications limited the State of New Jersey to a small subset of the commercially available products. Expanding the number of viable products allows for greater competition making it possible for the New Jersey Department of Transportation to spend funds more efficiently. A thorough literature review, an analysis of regional and national specifications for polymer composite materials, as well as an independent engineering design analysis were performed to determine the minimum required material properties for the polymer based structural members. Based on these results, a specification, product qualification standards, and product acceptance standards were created based on statistically determined material properties, maximum allowable degradation, and full-scale structural testing. When selecting material testing standards, it was found that no simple effective test could be performed on round fiber reinforced composite tubes. This lead to the development of two new standard tests. One tests a ring cut from the circular tube with two opposing forces. The other tests an arch segment in flexure.

• Record URL:
  http://www.nj.gov/transportation/business/research/reports/FHWA-NJ-2017-006.pdf
• 
• Summary URL:
  http://www.nj.gov/transportation/business/research/reports/FHWA-NJ-2017-006-TB.pdf
• Corporate Authors:

  College of New Jersey

  P.O. Box 7718
  Ewing, NJ  United States  08628-0718

  New Jersey Department of Transportation

  Bureau of Research, 1035 Parkway Avenue, P.O. Box 600
  Trenton, NJ  United States  08625-0600

  Federal Highway Administration

  1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
  Washington, DC  United States  20590
• Authors:
  • Bechtel, Andrew J
  • Krstic, Vedrana
  • Zureick, Abdul-Hamid
  • Ramakrishna, Aravinda
• Publication Date: 2017-4

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Digital/other
• Edition: Final Report
• Features: Appendices; Figures; Photos; References; Tables;
• Pagination: 139p

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Composite materials; Fiberglass; Geotechnical engineering; Marine engineering; Polymers; Specifications; Structural members
• Identifier Terms: New Jersey Department of Transportation
• Geographic Terms: New Jersey
• Subject Areas: Bridges and other structures; Design; Marine Transportation; Materials;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01649812
• Record Type: Publication
• Report/Paper Numbers: FHWA-NJ-2017-006
• Contract Numbers: NJDOT RFP 2014-15-02
• Files: TRIS, ATRI, USDOT, STATEDOT
• Created Date: Oct 30 2017 9:11AM