A pultruded GFRP deck panel for temporary structures

This paper presents the design, analysis, and fabrication of a reusable pultruded GFRP (glass fiber-reinforced-polymer) deck panel that can be used to furnish the roadway surface of temporary structures. A five-cell GFRP deck panel is proposed here to overcome the steel corrosion and fatigue problems of conventional steel deck panels. A finite element analysis was carried out to design the cross-section and to evaluate the structural performance of the proposed GFRP deck panel within the design limits. The GFRP deck panels were successfully fabricated in accordance with the proposed cross-sectional profile and GFRP stacking patterns and have been installed in a construction site. The findings and recommendations for future study are also summarised. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.