Fatigue durability of FRP composite bridge decks at extreme temperatures

Decks manufactured with Fibre-Reinforced Polymer (FRP) composite materials are used in bridges. A performance evaluation of FRP composite decks subjected to simulated traffic loads that induce repetitive stress cycles under extremely high and low temperature is presented. Fatigue testing of three FRP composite bridge deck prototypes and one FRP-concrete hybrid bridge deck prototype under two extreme temperature conditions: −30°C (−22°F), and 50°C (122°F) was conducted. The fatigue response of the deck prototypes was correlated with the baseline performance of a conventional reinforced-concrete deck. Design loads were applied simultaneously at two points. Quasi-static load-deflection and load-strain characteristics were determined at predetermined fatigue cycle levels. No significant distress was observed in any of the composite deck prototypes during ten million load cycles. The effects of extreme temperatures and accumulated load cycles on the load-deflection and load-strain response of FRP composite and FRP-concrete hybrid bridge decks are discussed based on the experimental results.