Reinforcement of bridge piers with FRP sheets to resist vehicle impact

Frequent accidents involving bridge piers alongside highways have necessitated experimental studies on modern reinforcing techniques making use of high performance composite materials. The studies discussed were undertaken on bridge pier elements, reinforced with aramid sheets, both in the longitudinal and transverse directions. The paper looks at the results that showed an impressive increase in the flexural resistance as well as in the deformability of the reinforced columns. Furthermore, the ability to absorb kinetic energy and to resist impacts by heavy vehicles was increased by a factor of 2 to 4, depending on the number of reinforcing layers applied. These reinforcing techniques seem equally appealing for economic reasons because of their rapid intervention time requirements, which facilitate a minimal delay of traffic routes.