Development and Evaluation of an Adhesively Bonded Panel-to-Panel Joint for a Fiber-Reinforced Polymer Bridge Deck System

A fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) composite cellular deck system was used to rehabilitate a historical cast iron thru-truss structure (Hawthorne Street Bridge in Covington, Virginia). The most important characteristic of this application is reduction in self-weight, which raises the live load-carrying capacity of the bridge by replacing the existing concrete deck with an FRP deck. This bridge is designed to an HL-93 load and has a 75-ft clear span with a roadway width of 22 ft. The panel-to-panel connections were accomplished using full width, adhesively (structural urethane adhesive) bonded tongue and groove splices with scarfed edges. To ensure proper construction, serviceability, and strength of the splice, a full-scale two-bay section of the bridge with three adhesively bonded panel-to-panel connections was constructed and tested in the Structures Laboratory at Virginia Tech. Test results showed that no crack initiated in the joints under service load and no significant change in stiffness or strength of the joint occurred after 3,000,000 cycles of fatigue loading. The proposed adhesive bonding technique was installed in the bridge in August 2006.

• Record URL:
  http://www.virginiadot.org/vtrc/main/online_reports/pdf/07-cr14.pdf
• 
• Corporate Authors:

  Virginia Transportation Research Council

  530 Edgemont Road
  Charlottesville, VA  United States  22903

  Virginia Department of Transportation

  1401 East Broad Street
  Richmond, VA  United States  23219

  Federal Highway Administration

  1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
  Washington, DC  United States  20590
• Authors:
  • Liu, Zihong
  • Majumdar, Parsun K
  • Cousins, Tommy
  • Lesko, John J
• Publication Date: 2007-4

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Print
• Edition: Final Contract Report
• Features: Figures; Photos; References; Tables;
• Pagination: 26p

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Adhesion; Bridge decks; Concrete; Construction; Cracking; Fiber reinforced plastics; Live loads; Rehabilitation (Maintenance); Serviceability
• Geographic Terms: Virginia
• Subject Areas: Bridges and other structures; Construction; Design; Highways; I24: Design of Bridges and Retaining Walls;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01053614
• Record Type: Publication
• Report/Paper Numbers: FHWA/VTRC 07-CR14, VTRC 07-CR14
• Contract Numbers: 69583
• Files: TRIS, USDOT, STATEDOT
• Created Date: Jul 1 2007 8:30AM