Elsevier

Construction and Building Materials

Volume 50, 15 January 2014, Pages 190-199
Construction and Building Materials

Bridge decks of fibre reinforced polymer (FRP): A sustainable solution

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2013.09.036Get rights and content

Highlights

  • FRP decks offer rapid erection, less negative impact on users and improved social sustainability.

  • Using FRP deck systems for refurbishment purposes offers less indirect costs.

  • Bridges with FRP deck are environmentally favourable in terms of low carbon emissions.

  • Polymer concrete is not a suitable option for wear surface in terms of environmental impacts.

Abstract

Fibre reinforced polymer (FRP) bridge decks have become an interesting alternative and they have attracted increasing attention for applications in the refurbishment of existing bridges and the construction of new bridges. The benefits brought by lightweight, high-strength FRP materials to these applications are well recognised. However, the sustainability of bridge concepts incorporating FRP decks still needs to be demonstrated and verified. The aim of this paper is to bridge this knowledge gap by examining the sustainability of these FRP solutions in comparison with traditional bridge concepts. An existing composite (steel–concrete) bridge with a concrete deck that had deteriorated was selected for this purpose. Two scenarios are studied and analysed; the total replacement of the entire bridge superstructure and the replacement of the concrete deck with a new deck made of GFRP. The analyses prove that FRP decks contribute to potential cost savings over the life cycle of bridges and a reduced environmental impact.

Introduction

Today, road authorities manage a large population of ageing bridges, a substantial number of which fail to meet the current requirements either due to deterioration and other structural deficiencies or as a result of the escalating demands imposed by increased traffic intensity and higher axle loads. As a result, the maintenance, upgrading and replacement of existing bridges have become a very challenging task for the construction industry. Complications associated with these tasks are even more critical in urban areas, where the overall cost of the project is often governed by indirect costs due to traffic disruption. New upgrading and refurbishment methods integrated with accurate urban planning which minimise the traffic disruption and disturbance in highly populated areas are therefore very useful for bridge authorities and owners.

In this context, the European PANTURA project [1] was initiated in 2011 with the emphasis on ‘resource-efficient, urban-friendly bridge construction sites’. The objective of the project is to create a systematic interaction between bridge engineering and different urban planning sectors in order to improve the cost efficiency of bridge construction and minimise disturbance and the disruption of mobility. PANTURA aims to deliver integrated methods for managing flexible construction processes, co-ordinating complex urban projects and enhanced technologies for bridge construction in urban areas. With the growing commitment of the construction industry to sustainable development, these methods should contribute to more sustainable bridge deliveries in order to achieve the goals of optimal performance, the efficient use of resources and minimum energy consumption and carbon emissions.

Within the framework of the PANTURA project, a survey was conducted to identify the demands of road authorities, bridge owners and city management offices when dealing with bridge construction activities and classify the most common problems associated with existing bridges located mainly in urban areas. The main demands imposed by road authorities and bridge owners for bridge maintenance activities and new bridge construction, based on their priority, are presented in Table 1.

These demands clearly indicate that sustainable industrial construction methods which lead to minimised on-site activities and construction time are promoted by the bridge industry. These methods should also lead to the minimisation of social impact and reduced initial, maintenance and life-cycle costs. In fact, several bridge authorities have already started incorporating environmentally sustainable principles in the bridge procurement process.

When it comes to the most common problems associated with existing bridges, the results of this survey indicate that the deterioration of concrete decks is one of the most pronounced problems in existing composite (steel–concrete) bridges. The replacement of deteriorated concrete decks is therefore one of the most common activities in the maintenance of existing bridges. Today, the current practice is to demolish the old, deteriorated concrete deck and replace it with a new one, which is either cast on site or assembled from precast elements. In both cases, the construction of the new bridge deck requires extensive on-site activities which lead to lengthy traffic delays.

In this respect, a potential solution which has been developed during the past decade is the application of fibre reinforced polymer (FRP) composite bridge decks. FRP decks exhibit high stiffness and strength-to-weight ratios, high fatigue and corrosion resistance and offer potential weight-saving benefits over conventional concrete decks. In addition to their light weight, the manufacturing of these decks – as prefabricated units – brings all the benefits of controlled, industrial off-site fabrication, faster transportation and rapid on-site assembly, leading to the minimisation of traffic disturbance. The application of FRP decks in a number of bridge projects has proven these advantages and demonstrated that these decks are a suitable option in deck replacement projects as well as in the construction of new bridges [3], [4], [5], [6], [7].

Despite the advantages offered by FRP decks in terms of structural performance and rapid installation, one of the obstacles to the widespread application of these decks is their fairly high initial cost. Among other viable solutions, the FRP deck option is not usually justifiable with respect to the initial cost of the project. By considering only the initial cost, the superior advantages of FRP decks are often overlooked. It is therefore important to provide a basis to demonstrate the advantages of FRP deck solutions by considering the life-time cost of the bridge and its impact on the environment and society. In this respect, life-cycle cost (LCC) and life-cycle assessment (LCA) analyses are powerful tools which could be used to demonstrate the sustainability of bridges incorporating FRP decks.

Very few studies have, however, been conducted to examine the cost efficiency and sustainability of this concept in relation to other conventional bridge concepts. The need for more studies prompted the authors to perform an assessment of the life-cycle costs and the environmental impact of two alternative solutions considered for an existing composite (steel–concrete) bridge with a deteriorated concrete deck. The total replacement of the bridge is compared with a bridge rehabilitation scenario in which the concrete deck is replaced by an FRP deck. In addition to this main aim, the paper endeavours to identify the opportunities and challenges of bridges with FRP decks with respect to important sustainability considerations, by evaluating and characterising the existing literature on this topic.

Section snippets

Sustainability

Sustainable development has become an increasingly important theme in many different engineering fields. The most widely used and accepted definition of sustainable development is given in the Common Future (World Commission on Environment and Development, 1987) as ‘the ability to make sustainable development – to ensure that it meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of the future generations to meet their needs’. The concept of sustainability imposes “a new way of

Case-study bridge

In order to arrive at a quantitative assessment of the sustainability of bridge concepts incorporating FRP bridge decks, a comparative analysis needs to be performed on a well-defined case. For this purpose, a case-study bridge was selected and analysed with regard to life-cycle costs and environmental impact in terms of carbon emissions. However, before any general conclusions can be drawn, a wide range of bridge types and spans should be studied by performing such analyses. The conclusions

Conclusions

Bridges incorporating FRP decks are a relatively new and promising concept. Previous research and field applications have clearly demonstrated the benefits brought by lightweight FRP decks to the overall structural performance of bridges, especially in the case of bridge rehabilitation and upgrading. Very little has, however, been done to examine the cost efficiency and sustainability of this concept in relation to other conventional bridge concepts.

These issues are addressed in this paper

Acknowledgements

The work presented in this paper is part of the EU-funded PANTURA project. The authors would like to acknowledge the assistance and support provided by Ramböll AB (Sweden) and Fiberline Composites (Denmark).

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