Buried FRP-Concrete Arches
Abstract
An alternative technology for the short-span buried concrete arch bridges is presented in this thesis. The proposed technology uses cast-in-place concrete filled fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) tubes as an alternative to precast concrete arch segments. Unlike conventional concrete arch bridges, steel reinforcement is not used and instead reinforcement is restricted to the FRP shell to generate a rigid ductile structure. In order to test the feasibility of the system, a fabrication process for hollow arched tubes had to be developed, and a zero shrinkage high slump concrete mix had to be designed. FRP tube fabrication was based on VIPISCRIMP process. Combinations of different reinforcing and mold materials were evaluated to enhance the strength. To test the behavior of different mold types and reinforcements, ten prototype concrete-filled arch specimens were produced and subjected to a concentrated load at the crown. In addition, (15) 7 foot long straight specimens were produced and subject to four-point bending, and (15) 12 inch long specimens were subject to uniaxial compression. Observations were gathered from these experimental results and discussed within.