The Rehabilitation of Steel Bridge Girders Using Advanced Composite Materials

This Innovations Deserving Exploratory Analysis (IDEA) project focused on applying advanced composites to steel-bridge retrofitting in the field. The major issues investigated were fatigue resistance and environmental durability. An existing steel bridge girder on Delaware Bridge 1-704 was rehabilitated using carbon-fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP) plates. It was shown that a small crew could quickly and easily perform the rehabilitation without the need for special tools, experience, or training. Load tests performed prior to and after the rehabilitation indicate a reduction in tension flange strains of 11%. Monitoring will continue for an indefinite period of time to enable the durability of the CFRP/steel bond to be assessed. The research demonstrated that this rehabilitation approach is a feasible and potentially cost-effective repair solution for deteriorated steel bridges.