SERVICE AND ULTIMATE BEHAVIOR OF HYBRID COMPOSITE BRIDGE DECK

This paper presents the results of experimental and analytical studies conducted on a new generation of all-composite bridge deck. The carbon/fiberglass reinforced polymer composite deck system was designed to replace the existing low profile welded steel gratings on the lift span of the Schuyler Heim bridge in Long Beach, California. The experimental test results indicated that the composite bridge deck has exceeded both the predicted design and ultimate capacities. The span-to-deflection ratio at the mid-span was L/738 based on a span length of 48 (1.22 m). The average safety factor (SF) of the composite deck prototype was 6. In all tests, the ultimate failure was initiated either by a punching shear under the loading steel plate, or/and by the delamination of the curved portion of the drop sandwich panel. In modeling the performance of the composite deck, the GENOA progressive failure analysis numerical code was used to perform virtual testing of the composite decks under both quasi-static and fatigue loading conditions. The GENOA progressive failure code succeeded in predicting not only the stresses and strains, but also the major mode of failure observed during the full-scale laboratory tests. For the covering abstract see ITRD E122906.