Design and experimental verification of a novel fibre-reinforced polymer sandwich decking system for bridge application

The paper presents the selected research results on the development of a novel fibre-reinforced polymer sandwich decking system dedicated for bridge applications and applied in the first Polish all-composite vehicular bridge. Based on a review of recently implemented similar systems, the novel solution has been proposed and checked according to relevant codes as a part of all-composite bridge design. Due to the novelty of sandwich design, the comprehensive structural testing has been carried out to verify design assumptions as well as to assess its stiffness, strength and safety. In order to find the optimized structural solution of fibre-reinforced polymer deck, the laboratory tests were conducted on several FRP sandwich panels having various core foam density and internal ribs’ fabric architecture. The panels were subjected to three loading schemes to check their response under bending, shear and bearing as well as to examine their structural behaviour up to failure and corresponding failure modes. The stiffness, strength and safety against failure were experimentally determined. In this paper, the test results have been compared to the ultimate and serviceability limit state design criteria formulated in the European guidelines and applied in an actual bridge design.