BRIDGE REHABILITATION USING ADVANCED COMPOSITES: ASHLAND BRIDGE SR-82 OVER RED CLAY CREEK

The continued decline of the USA's bridge infrastructure has created the need for repair and rehabilitation techniques involving innovative materials. The importance of advanced composites in bridge rehabilitation is increasingly being realized in both research and application. This project focuses on the rehabilitation of Delaware Department of Transportation (DelDOT) Bridge 119, the Ashland ridge on State Route 82 over Red Clay Creek Bridge 119 is a steel through girder bridge whose rehabilitation included the application of carbon-fibre-reinforced polymer (CFRP) plates. To quantify improvement in stiffness, durability, and/or overall performance of the bridge, a non destructive load test was conducted by the University of Delaware in the summer of 2002 with the assistance of DelDOT personnel prior to rehabilitation. This initial load test was used to quantify the baseline behaviour for the bridge. The rehabilitation of the bridge, which was performed in the autumn of 2002, consisted of replacing the concrete deck with a new deck that was made to act compositely with the floor beams and the bonding of CFRP plates to the underside of two of the floor beams. The expected change in stress due to the rehabilitation was predicted using transformed sections. A second load test to assess the rehab performance is scheduled for the summer of 2003. For the covering abstract see ITRD E122906.