Case study of first all-GFRP pedestrian bridge in Taiwan

To forestall the severe deterioration of structures as a result of corrosion, the first all-FRP composite pedestrian bridge was built in Tainan, Taiwan. The bridge superstructure was designed by placing Glass Fiber Reinforced Polymer (GFRP) decks onto four FRP I-girders that served as the bridge girders. Bridge diaphragms and FRP rods placed between the girders helped dissipate the loading to the other girders and prevent torsion respectively. The pultruded GFRP composite profiles were used in constructing this bridge located in the Taijiang National Park of Taiwan. This paper discusses the features of the pedestrian bridge and the detailed design of all the components of the bridge. A new method of digitally archiving the pedestrian bridge using a 3D terrestrial laser scanner was also presented. Lastly, results of the theoretical analysis were compared with the finite element analysis (FEA), to predict the static flexural behavior of an 8-m girder under loadings. After agreement of the theoretical results (using Timoshenko Beam Theory and Euler–Bernoulli Beam Theory) and the FEA results, the pedestrian bridge superstructure was modeled and analyzed. Deflection results obtained from the FEA showed that the pedestrian bridge meets the deflection criteria.