Composite concrete/GFRP slabs for footbridge deck systems

In recent years the use of advanced composite materials has gained wider space in the civil engineering sector, due to some favorable characteristics such as lightweight, high specific strength, resistance to corrosion and fatigue. Innovative systems that combine concrete with advanced composite materials have proved to be a viable and efficient solution as compared to conventional systems. In this work, a new slab system composed of a fiber-reinforced concrete top laid on glass fiber reinforced polymeric (GFRP) wide-flange-section pultruded profiles, filled in with foam blocks, is presented. The material properties of the GFRP profiles were obtained both theoretically and experimentally. Experimental tests to choose the appropriate resin to bond the concrete to the GFRP profiles and to select the appropriate short fiber and volume fraction to be used in the concrete top have also been conducted. The slab was designed to sustain constructive loads and live pedestrian loads for footbridge deck applications. To investigate the slab flexural behavior up to failure, three specimens were tested under four-point bending, and theoretical and finite element analyses were also performed. Comparisons of theoretical, numerical and experimental results show good agreement. Studies under way to complete the development of the proposed slab are briefly described at the end of the work. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.