Fiber Reinforced Polymer Culvert Bridges - A Feasibility Study from Structural and Life Cycle Cost Points of View

May 18, 2022

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Presented by: Dr. Reza Haghani

Abstract: Soil–steel composite bridges (SSCB) have become increasingly popular for short-span bridges as an alternative to concrete slab bridges mainly due to their low initial cost, rapid manufacture, simplified construction, and geometrical adaptability. SSCBs have a variety of applications and can be used over waterways or roadways. The load-carrying capacity and integrity of such structures highly depend on the condition and load-carrying capacity of the steel arch element. Unfortunately, the inspection of SSCBs is not straightforward, and any damage/collapse will be very costly to repair/replace. This webinar presents a short introduction to FRP composites and a new concept to use glass FRP (GFRP) as a building material to construct soil–FRP composite bridges (SFCB). Various aspects of design and manufacturing will be discussed along with results and conclusions from a case study involving alternative bridge designs in steel and FRP composites.

Speaker bio: Reza Haghani is an Associate Professor of Structural Engineering at Chalmers University of Technology and currently a visiting scholar at the School of Civil Engineering and Environmental Science at the University of Oklahoma. His research is centered on the behavior, design, manufacturing, and durability of fiber reinforced polymer composite materials and their applications in structural retrofit and accelerated bridge construction (ABC).