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REHABILITATION OF STEEL BRIDGE GIRDERS THROUGH THE APPLICATION OF ADVANCED COMPOSITE MATERIALS
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1996
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Materials ScienceBridge DesignStructural IntegrityEngineeringDurability PerformanceReinforcement MaterialCorrosionCivil EngineeringExcessive CorrosionStructural RehabilitationStructural PerformanceStructural ApplicationStructural SteelAdvanced Composite MaterialsSteel MemberStructural Engineering
Corrosion, especially of bottom flanges, is the primary cause of steel bridge girder deterioration, and repairing these flanges can improve flexural performance. The IDEA project evaluated the feasibility of using advanced composite materials to rehabilitate deteriorated steel bridge members. The investigation examined single‑span girders with corroded bottom flanges, attaching composite rehabilitations via adhesive bonding and testing the durability of the bond under various field conditions through fracture‑toughness tests and scheme development. One rehabilitation scheme was successfully applied to girders removed from service in Pennsylvania, demonstrating the method’s applicability to realistic members with existing corrosion.
This Innovations Deserving Exploratory Analysis (IDEA) project evaluated the feasibility of using advanced composite materials in the rehabilitation of deteriorated steel bridge members. The primary cause of such deterioration is loss of steel due to corrosion. Due to various conditions that accelerate corrosion, such as debris accumulation, the bottom flanges of girders are usually the site of the largest corrosion. The flexural characteristics of steel bridge girders are shown to be improved through the application of various repair schemes to the bottom flange. This investigation focused on the case of single span girders where the bottom flange is subjected to tensile stresses. The composite rehabilitations are attached to the corroded steel member using adhesive bonding; therefore, the durability of the adhesive bond under the various conditions that are present in the field over time is a critical issue. Durability tests were performed on a number of adhesives to determine the effect of the environmental conditions on the fracture toughness of the bond over time. Rehabilitation schemes were developed and tested for a variety of field conditions. One of the schemes was used to rehabilitate girders taken out of service in Pennsylvania due to excessive corrosion. This provided an opportunity for the process to be applied to a member of realistic size and with corrosion as exists in the national bridge inventory.