Development of class fiber reinforced polymer composite bridge deck

Bridge deck deterioration has been recognized by highway agencies to be one of the most complex problems of the infrastructure. Federal and State highway agencies have turned to investigating non-conventional materials to help solve the deterioration of the highway infrastructure. Advanced fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) composite materials and products are considered to have high potential for use in bridge deck repair or replacement. Advances in manufacturing and design of FRP composites have lead to the production of bridge deck modules that can be used as temporary or permanent replacements for bridge decking. The use of an innovative FRP composite bridge deck is presented in this paper with emphasis on its development, laboratory testing, service limit states, field implementation, field testing and future plans. The strength and stiffness characterization of FRP composite coupons, components, and modules in the laboratory lead to the construction of two FRP composite bridge decks in West Virginia, namely Laurel Lick bridge and Wickwire Run bridge, Laboratory and field tests have revealed good performances of our FRP composite bridge deck comprised of double-trapezoid and hexagonal components. Realizing the advantages of using FRP composite bridge decks, five, in-service, deteriorated bridges (three in West Virginia, one in Ohio, and one in New York) are programmed to receive FRP composite bridge decking. Another ten deteriorated bridge decks are being identified for rehabilitation using FRP composite bridge deck in West Virginia. Research is ongoing at the Constructed Facilities Center-West Virginia University in terms of developing better fabric architecture and manufacturing process (pull-speed, wet-out time, die temperatures, die length, and degree of cure), leading to enhanced performance. The goal is to reduce the weight of FRP composite deck and hence the cost, while satisfying the demands of highway bridge loads and effects of harsh environments.