Development and Demonstration of Advanced Design Composite Structural Components.

Composite materials have proven to be effective in aggressively corrosive environments, but most fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) composites have not been optimized for civil engineering applications. Conventional civil engineering design procedures may not effectively exploit the unique mechanical properties of FRP composites or adequately define potential failure mechanisms. This report develops, tests, and demonstrates optimized, advanced-design composite structural components for civil engineering applications. New glass FRP fiber architectures are first developed, tested and optimized. Using the optimized fiber architecture, a pultruded interlocking hexagonal structural system called the H-Deck was then designed, tested and compared with American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials performance standards. Two short-span FRP composite H-deck demonstration bridges were successfully constructed. Findings from an economic analysis suggest that life-cycle costs for properly selected FRP composite H-Deck applications will be lower than for comparable reinforced concrete applications.