Part 8: Structural Fiber-Reinforced Plastics: Evaluation of Steel Girder Bridge Strengthened with Carbon Fiber-Reinforced Polymer Posttension Bars

This project investigated the effectiveness of carbon fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP) composite materials to strengthen an existing, structurally deficient steel girder bridge. The bridge selected for strengthening with the CFRP posttensioning system is a three-span continuous steel stringer bridge on IA-141 approximately 1.6 mi west of Bayard, Iowa. The research program consisted of several tasks, and the main emphasis was the installation of the strengthening system and associated field testing. The bridge was instrumented to measure strain at selected critical locations and tested before installation of the posttensioning system, shortly following posttensioning, and after approximately 1 and 2 years of service to assess changes in behavior resulting from the addition of the posttensioning system and time. During the application of the posttensioning strengthening system, strain was measured to investigate the response of the bridge to the applied posttensioning forces. After the last follow-up test wa...