A significant transportation-based infrastructural challenge is the deterioration of concrete bridges due to the corrosion of the internal steel reinforcement-an issue that only becomes further exacerbated upon the application of deicing chemicals.
Fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) composite materials are a means of reinforcing concrete structures as an alternative to steel reinforcing bars. The objectives of the proposed project is to perform material and small scale tests, test 1 full-scale (in the transverse direction) GFRP reinforced concrete deck in the laboratory, analyze the collected data, compare it to predicted behavior as well as to the data obtained from monitoring the actual bridge itself, and finally to furnish recommendations to NCDOT engineers as per the research findings. In particular, the researchers will be collecting information on the continuity aspects of bridge decks subjected to simultaneously applied wheel loads applied in adjacent deck spans. In these cases, it is anticipated that in addition to punching shear, flexure and one-way shear will also affect the behavior of concrete bridge decks."
