Nondestructive Evaluation of Full-Scale FRP Bridge Beams Prior to Construction

Two innovative hybrid bridges having conventional reinforced concrete slabs combined with fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) beams have been designed and built in the Corpus Christi District. The first structure had two spans each of 30 feet and the second structure length is 50 feet; the width of each bridge is 32 feet. The first hybrid structure was designed by researchers at the University of Texas at Austin working closely with Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) and the second was designed by researchers at the University of Texas in Arlington and the University of South Carolina. For both bridge structures, beams were nondestructively evaluated at the manufacturing facility using Acoustic Emission (AE) as the primary evaluation method. This article presents a description of the structures and the methods and results of the nondestructive evaluation (NDE). AE testing proved to be a useful tool for helping to establish the fitness for service of the FRP beams prior to implementation and for identifying areas requiring special attention during the quality assurance phase.