Innovative Systems of FRP Bridge Deck Panels with Crash-Worthy Guardrails

Several bridges are constructed with cast-in-place concrete on steel girders, and many of these concrete decks have severely deteriorated with exposed and rusted rebar as a result of exposure to deicing salt. The steel girders and the substructure on many of these bridges are generally still in good condition. Under the sponsorship of the Kansas Department of Transportation (KDOT) and following several years of R&D, the design, implementation, and testing of an alternative to concrete deck replacement have been completed. The system consists of Fiber Reinforced Polymer (FRP) honeycomb sandwich panels with either proper steel post or precast concrete guardrails. Although FRP deck panels were already designed, tested, and considered earlier, they could not be used until acceptable bridge railing systems has been completed in summer 2009. A system of precast, vertical-faced, concrete barriers fastened to the deck panels by a specifically designed attachment using anchor rods, plate washers, and nuts, was tested at the Midwest Roadside Safety Facility (MwRSF) in Lincoln, Nebraska. The system met the Test Level 3 (TL-3) evaluation criteria specified in the Manual for Assessing Safety Hardware (MASH). A system of steel thrie beams/rails with steel posts, which was previously crash-tested successfully in 2005 and recommended for Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) approval in accordance with the test Level 4 (TL-4) criteria of CHIRP Report No. 350, presents another viable option for guardrails.

• Record URL:
  http://transport.ksu.edu/research/2010%20Projects/KSUTC-10-8.pdf

Language

• English

Project

• Status: Active
• Funding: $25000.00
• Contract Numbers:

  KSUTC-10-8

• Sponsor Organizations:

  Kansas State University Transportation Center

  Kansas State University
  Department of Civil Engineering
  Manhattan, KS  United States  66506
• Project Managers:

  Stokes, Robert

• Performing Organizations:

  Kansas State University Transportation Center

  Kansas State University
  Department of Civil Engineering
  Manhattan, KS  United States  66506
• Principal Investigators:

  Melhem, Hani

• Start Date: 20100125
• Expected Completion Date: 0
• Actual Completion Date: 0
• Source Data: RiP Project 25895

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Bridge decks; Bridge railings; Cast in place concrete; Crashworthiness; Deicing chemicals; Deterioration; Fiber reinforced polymers; Girder bridges; Guardrails; Precast concrete; Thrie beams
• Uncontrolled Terms: Steel girders
• Geographic Terms: Kansas
• Subject Areas: Bridges and other structures; Design; Highways;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01461558
• Record Type: Research project
• Source Agency: Kansas State University Transportation Center
• Contract Numbers: KSUTC-10-8
• Files: RIP
• Created Date: Jan 3 2013 1:48PM