Composite Structures 92 (2010) 25542564

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Composite Structures
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/compstruct

Composite concrete/GFRP slabs for footbridge deck systems

Almir Barros da S. Santos Neto a,1, Henriette Lebre La Rovere b,*
a b

Civil Engineering Department, Federal University of Pampa (UNIPAMPA), Alegrete Center for Technology CTA, Av. Tiaraj, 810, Bairro Ibirapuit, CEP 97546-550, Alegrete/RS, Brazil Civil Engineering Department, Federal University of Santa Catarina (UFSC), Rua Hannover 175, Bairro Crrego Grande, CEP 88037-365, Florianpolis/SC, Brazil

a r t i c l e

i n f o

a b s t r a c t
In recent years the use of advanced composite materials has gained wider space in the civil engineering sector, due to some favorable characteristics such as lightweight, high specic strength, resistance to corrosion and fatigue. Innovative systems that combine concrete with advanced composite materials have proved to be a viable and efcient solution as compared to conventional systems. In this work, a new slab system composed of a ber-reinforced concrete top laid on glass ber reinforced polymeric (GFRP) wideange-section pultruded proles, lled in with foam blocks, is presented. The material properties of the GFRP proles were obtained both theoretically and experimentally. Experimental tests to choose the appropriate resin to bond the concrete to the GFRP proles and to select the appropriate short ber and volume fraction to be used in the concrete top have also been conducted. The slab was designed to sustain constructive loads and live pedestrian loads for footbridge deck applications. To investigate the slab exural behavior up to failure, three specimens were tested under four-point bending, and theoretical and nite element analyses were also performed. Comparisons of theoretical, numerical and experimental results show good agreement. Studies under way to complete the development of the proposed slab are briey described at the end of the work. 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Article history: Available online 12 February 2010 Keywords: Composite slabs Glass ber reinforced polymers Pultruded proles Footbridges Decks

1. Introduction In the course of their service life, civil construction structures are subjected to the action of physically or chemically aggressive agents that can weaken their components. With respect to infrastructure construction, the reduction in durability of bridge and footbridge decks made of steel or concrete in particular, those exposed to an aggressive atmosphere has generated direct as well as indirect costs (due to trafc interruptions) that are considerable given the need to repair, strengthen, or even completely replace such decks. According to the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), in 2002, approximately 31.4% of the 580,000 bridges in the United States were structurally damaged or functionally obsolete, Alampalli et al. [1]. In Europe, roughly 84,000 bridges made of reinforced/prestressed concrete require maintenance, strengthening, and repair, thus generating annual expenses of 215 million euros, not including trafc management costs, Holloway [2]. In Canada, approximately 30,000 bridges are in need of repair, which would require an investment of about 49 billion dollars, Mufti [3]. Similarly, in Brazil, a country with many cities and highways
* Corresponding author. Tel.: +55 48 9136 7366. E-mail addresses: almir@unipampa.edu.br (Almir Barros da S. Santos Neto), henriette@ecv.ufsc.br (H.L. La Rovere). 1 Tel.:+55 55 9606 8768. 0263-8223/$ - see front matter 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.compstruct.2010.02.005

concentrated along its long coast, several reinforced/prestressed concrete bridges are quickly deteriorating and require repair, strengthening or replacement, Mattje [4]. These facts point out to the necessity of development of new structural elements and constructive systems, for use in structures exposed to aggressive environmental conditions, using alternative materials, more durable and resistant to corrosion as compared to conventional ones. In this scenario the use of advanced composite materials has gained wider space in the civil engineering sector, due to some favorable characteristics such as high specic strength and stiffness, resistance to corrosion and fatigue. Particularly for bridges, the replacement of damaged components by FRP ones can bring clear advantages derived from light weight and easy handling, leading to reduced erection time and fewer trafc interruptions. However, attempts to design and manufacture new complete FRP bridge systems have shown difculties in competing with conventional systems, due mainly to economic reasons. Only in the 1990s researchers awake to the advantages of combining concrete and FRP materials, and initiate the development of innovative structural systems. Concrete aids in the compressive resistance and providing stability of the composite members, and it also tends to reduce the overall cost of the structure. Pre-fabricated slabs of reduced self-weight can be produced by the use of concrete combined with pultruded FRP plates, which provide the tensile resistance and serve as permanent formwork to concrete. Deskovic et al. [5] developed a composite FRP-concrete beam, composed of a

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hybrid-FRP box section, lled with concrete at the top. The box beam was made of Glass Fiber Reinforced Polymer (GFRP) walls, with an external thin layer of carbon ber reinforced polymer (CFRP) laminate bonded to the lower ange. This CFRP laminate increases the beam stiffness and provides a pseudoductility, since it can give some warning of an imminent collapse, being the rst element to fail. More recently, researchers from the University of California, San Diego (UCSD), have developed and tested entire advanced composite superstructure systems for short and medium-span bridges, Karbhari et al. [6] and Zhao et al. [7]. Concrete-Carbon Shell (CCS) Systems, consisting of pre-fabricated lament-wound carbon/epoxy shells lled with concrete, were initially developed for bridge components. The CCS can be combined with conventional cast-in-place R/C slabs or with FRP modular systems. Hybrid-Tube Systems (HTS), similar to the composite box beam proposed by Deskovic, and composite decks, made of hybrid-FRP panels that served the dual functions of reinforcement and stay-in-place formwork for concrete, have also been developed. An example of application of the CCS system is the cable-stayed pedestrian bridge, 39.6 m long, built inside the UCSD Campus (Seible and Burgueo, [8]), shown in Fig. 1a. There are several other examples of application of FRP materials to footbridges; among them it can be quoted the Aberfeldy Footbridge, in Scotland, (114 m long and 2 m wide, see Fig. 1b), and the one in Kolding, Denmark (40 m long and 3 m wide, see Fig. 1c). In this work, the preliminary studies for the development of a composite slab system are presented. The slab consists of a berreinforced concrete top laid on GFRP wide-ange (WF)-section pultruded proles, lled in with foam blocks (see Fig. 2). The major advantage of this slab system is that there are no connectors, the concrete top is simply bonded to the GFRP proles by means of a resin. The slab is designed for footbridge deck applications, but it could also be applied to industrial buildings or marine structures. The slab components and geometry are initially described. The GFRP prole properties are initially estimated by the Classical Laminate Theory and Rule of Mixtures. Next the equivalent isotropic longitudinal and shear moduli of the proles are obtained experimentally. Experimental tests to choose the appropriate resin to bond the concrete to the GFRP proles, and to select the appropriate short ber and volume fraction to be used in the slab concrete top, are briey described. The slab is then designed to sustain constructive loads and live pedestrian loads for footbridge deck applications. For design under bending, one-way action is assumed and the Timoshenko Beam Theory, combined with the Transformed

Fig. 2. Composite slab concrete/GFRP proles.

Area Approach, is employed. For the selected section, it can be demonstrated that the Serviceability Limit State (SLS) tends to govern the design. A linear-elastic nite element analysis of the slab under bending is also performed. To investigate the slab exural behavior up to failure, three specimens were tested under fourpoint bending, and the experimental results are compared with theoretical and numerical results obtained using Timoshenko beam Theory (TBT) and the Finite Element Method (FEM). At the end of the work, studies under way to complete the development of the proposed slab are briey described. 2. Composite slab concrete/GFRP proles The structural system proposed for footbridge deck applications consists of a concrete cover placed over GFRP WF-section pultruded proles, lled with foam (expanded polystyrene EPS) in between, as shown in Fig. 3. In order to restrain cracking due to plastic shrinkage, short polypropylene bers are added to the concrete top. GFRP WF-section proles fabricated in Brazil, of 101.6 mm 101.6 mm 9.5 mm dimensions, were selected for the slab. The foam blocks used for lling are nonstructural; they have the usual dimensions employed in pre-fabricated slabs and are cut for a perfect t. The proles and foam blocks serve as formwork for the wet concrete, and are designed to sustain constructive loads, avoiding thus the use of bracing. A resin is utilized for bonding the concrete to the proles at the interface and also to avoid water penetration and thus aiding to prevent alkali attack in the prole glass bers. After curing of concrete, the two components, concrete and GFRP proles, are joined together and behave structurally as a

Fig. 1. Applications of advanced composite material to footbridges: (a) Scripps I.O., UCSD, La Jolla, USA; (b) Aberfeldy, Scotland, UK; and (c) Kolding, Denmark.

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Concrete 40 mm

Foam Block Pultruded Profile 200 mm

Foam Block

Foam Block Pultruded Profile

101.6 mm

400 mm
Fig. 3. Composite slab representative section.

200 mm

pre-fabricated composite slab. For design of the slab under bending, one-way action is assumed, and a strip of 0.80 m width and 0.14 m height, as displayed in Fig. 3, is taken as representative section. A concrete top thickness of 40 mm was selected based on the recommendations given in NBR 14859-1 [9] for pre-fabricated slabs, and also to avoid buckling of the prole walls and shear failure of the concrete, Deskovic et al. [5]. It is worth noting that this composite slab is being developed to demonstrate the potential of FRP materials available in Brazil, where pultruded proles of limited variety of sections (U, I or WF) and made with unidirectional ber technology are produced by a handful of domestic manufacturers. FRP materials have only been used very recently in Brazilian civil constructions, in a small number of structures such as roofs, off-shore platform grids, and maritime signal towers, but have not yet been utilized in larger or composite structures. It is expected that, with increasing applications, the prole sections and lay-up are liable to be improved in the near future. 3. Material properties 3.1. GFRP prole estimated properties Pultruded proles are not laminated structures in a rigorous sense. However, the prole ange/web walls usually display a material architecture that can be simulated as lamination congurations. The selected WF-section prole is composed of ber glass rovings (disposed parallel to the prole longitudinal axis) embedded in a polyester matrix, with a ber volume fraction of 60%, and of laminates made of continuous strand mats (CSM), consisting of randomly-oriented bers. The mechanical properties of each individual laminae can be obtained approximately by means of micromechanics formulae. By choosing the formulae known as Rule of Mixtures, Kaw [10], and by using the elastic properties of the bers, resin, and CSM as given by the fabricator, the resulting properties of each individual laminae are found (see Table 1). It is assumed that the prole web and anges are laminated composites, with the same lay-up and equivalent orthotropic mechanical properties (E1, E2, G12 and m12) in their longitudinal (1) and transverse (2) direction (where 1, 2 are the in-plane local axes, as shown in Fig. 4). By using the Classical Lamination Theory

1 2

1 1 2

Fig. 4. Longitudinal (1) and transverse (2) direction of the GFRP prole web and anges.

(CLT), these equivalent properties can be found from the individual laminae properties and ber orientation, as shown in Table 1, and will be adopted for the nite element analysis of the composite slab. 3.2. GFRP prole properties measured experimentally To verify the values obtained theoretically, some material properties were also obtained from experimental tests. Initially the longitudinal elastic modulus (E1) was obtained from direct tension tests on coupons sawn off the WF-section proles, following the procedures of the American Standard ASTM D 3039 [11]. Five coupons of rectangular section 9 mm 15 mm and 250 mm length were tested. The average value obtained for E1 was 35.56 GPa, which basically coincides with the theoretical value obtained previously using CLT (see Table 1). Since it is difcult to obtain the shear modulus G12 from rectangular coupons, a procedure proposed by Bank [12], that simultaneously gives the equivalent longitudinal and shear moduli ( E, G) of composite proles from exural tests on simply supported beams, was applied. Two beam specimens, made of the selected GFRP WF-section prole, were tested under 3-point bending by varying the beam span. A more detailed description of this procedure and of the experiments can be found in Santos Neto and La Rovere [13]. The equivalent values obtained for the elastic moduli E and G, from the measured midspan deections in the beams are summarized in Table 2. These values are somewhat different than the ones obtained using CLT (see Table 1), due to differences in iso or orthotropic material behavior assumption. However, for simplied analytical methods, where beam theory is employed and isotropic behavior material is assumed, the values given in Table 2 are more suitable

Table 1 Elastic properties of the prole web and anges, and of the individual components. Materiala Continuous strand/resin mat Glass rovings/polyester resin Prole web and anges (CLT) E1 (GPa) 7.00 48.68 35.55 E2 (GPa) 7.00 6.56 7.02 G12 (GPa) 2.50 2.39 2.43

m12
0.401 0.272 0.319

a Where 1 is the longitudinal direction of the prole (which coincides with the roving direction) and 2 is the transverse direction of the prole web and anges (see Fig. 4).

Almir Barros da S. Santos Neto, H.L. La Rovere / Composite Structures 92 (2010) 25542564 Table 2 Flexural and shear moduli of GFRP prole, obtained from 3-point bending tests. Experimental tests GFRP prole specimen 1 GFRP prole specimen 2 Average E (GPa) 30.92 34.80 32.86 G (GPa) 2.64 2.69 2.67

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and are usually employed for design.The prole shear strength was estimated by means of the Rule of Mixtures and the matrix shear strength given by the fabricator (34 MPa), yielding the value of sus = 20.01 MPa. From the tensile strength and elastic modulus of the glass bers given by the fabricator, the FRP ultimate strain e0FRPu 0:032 was found. These properties will be used for design of the composite slab at ultimate, in Section 4.2. 3.3. Concrete Concrete was designed for a specied compressive strength (fc0 ) of 30 MPa at 28 days, using Portland Cement CP-II-Z-32, NBR 11578 [14]. The secant modulus of elasticity of concrete was obtained from the equation given in the Brazilian Code NBR 6118 [15], which is the same recommended by ACI 318 [16], yielding Ec = 26.07 GPa. The usual value of 0.2 is adopted for Poissons coefcient, resulting in a shear modulus Gc = 10.86 GPa. The tensile strength of concrete is estimated by the equation given in ACI 318 [16], as 3.04 MPa, Plastic shrinkage cracks may occur even when standard precautions have been taken, which may impair the durability and serviceability of concrete structures. One way to prevent such cracks is by adding short bers to the concrete mixture. To evaluate the inuence of the addition of polypropylene bers to concrete on plastic shrinkage cracking of thin slabs, experimental tests, based on previous studies, Kraai [17], and Balaguru [18], were also conducted, Santos Neto et al. [19]. A total of 12 plates, measuring 910 mm by 610 mm were cast for the experimental testing. In order to ensure a geometric surface area-to-volume relation typical of concrete slabs, a thickness of 20 mm was selected for the specimens. Thus, the plates were cast with mortar instead of concrete, to avoid possible restraining of the cement paste caused by the use of coarse aggregates in such thin plates. In order to increase the evaporation rate on the plates and to simulate worst conditions for casting concrete slabs in situ, regarding plastic cracking formation, two fans of 580 mm diameter that generate an average wind velocity of 15.5 km/h were employed. To ensure a uniform wind ow over the plates, a tunnel made of wood plies, with a U-shape cross-section measuring 650 650 650 mm, and 800 mm of length, was placed over the fan and the specimen. This was an additional modication to Kraais test setup. The experiments have shown that the addition of short polypropylene bers to the concrete mixture can restrain considerably crack formation due to plastic shrinkage. These bers were then selected for use in the proposed slab, with a ber volume fraction (Vf) of 0.10%. A more detailed description of this experiment can be found in Santos Neto et al. [19]. 3.4. Bond strength at the GFRP/concrete interface The bond strength at the GFRP prole/concrete interface was obtained by a double shear test, where a small prole specimen is pushed between two concrete blocks, as shown in Fig. 5. Two different resins, Sikadur 31 and Sikadur 32 Gel, the latest combined with sand, were used at the interfaces. The specied concrete strength was fc0 30 MPa and the Portland Cement CP-II-Z-32

Fig. 5. Bond test at concrete/GFRP interface.

(NBR 11578 [14]) was used in the concrete mix. Three specimens were built for each interface and were all tested at 28 days. Fig. 6 illustrates the failure modes observed in the specimens for each different interface: (a) interface with resin Sikadur 31 and (b) interface with resin Sikadur 32 Gel combined with sand. The statistical analyses of the experimental results showed a signicant inuence of the resin utilized on bond strength. The Sikadur 31 showed a better performance, with an average bond strength of sub = 2.53 MPa, and was thus selected to be used at the interface of the composite slab. 4. Design for footbridge applications In the design for footbridge deck applications, the slab is assumed to bend in one-way, with the main direction coinciding with the longitudinal axis of the proles. A representative slab strip, shown in Fig. 3, is adopted. 4.1. Design under service loads A total dead load (D) equal to the self-weight plus an additional load of 1.5 kN/m2, due to wearing surface and guardrails, plus a live pedestrian load (L) of 5 kN/m2 (NBR 7188 [20]) are considered acting along the simply supported slab strip. The deections in the slab are calculated using the Timoshenko Beam Theory (TBT) combined with the Transformed Area Approach. The slab section shown in Fig. 3 is transformed into an equivalent GFRP section, as shown in Fig. 7, by assuming that the materials concrete and GFRP are perfectly bonded and behave linear-elastically. Two different assumptions are considered: (a) concrete remains uncracked under service loads and (b) concrete cracks and its tensile and shear resistance are neglected. The equivalent isotropic moduli E, G shown in Table 2 were employed for the GFRP proles and estimated values were used for the concrete moduli Ec, Gc (see Section 3.3). Table 3 shows the resulting properties of the transformed section for both assumptions. It can be observed from Fig. 7 and Table 3 that the neutral axis lies almost at the interface, showing that the section is well designed, with the proles working in tension and the concrete top almost entirely in compression.

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Fig. 6. Failure mode of specimens: (a) interface with resin Sikadur 31 and (b) interface with resin Sikadur 32 Gel combined with sand.

(a) UNCRACKED
32.5 mm 31.8 mm
CONCRETE Neutral axis

WF PROFILE

(b) CRACKED
CONCRETE Neutral axis

WF PROFILE

Fig. 7. Slab section transformed into an equivalent GFRP material.

Table 3 Equivalent GFRP transformed section properties (E = 32.86 GPa, G = 2.67 GPa, Ec = 26.07 GPa, n = Ec/E = 0.793). Section properties x (mm) Uncracked section Cracked section 32.5 31.8 EI (kN m2) 1.211 103 1.208 103 GA (kN) 8.220 104 5.168 103

fs

A I
2

Z
A

Q2 b
2

dA

According to the TBT, the total maximum deection, at midspan, is obtained as the sum of the deection due to bending with the deection due to shear:

dmax dbending dshear

which, for a uniformily distributed loading (q) are:

where b is the beam width and Q is the rst area moment. Following the Brazilian code NBR 6118 [15] recommendations, the comparison of the maximum deection in the slab found for quasi-permanent load combination (q = D + 0.4L) with the allowable limit of L/250 yields a maximum allowable span of 4.65 m for assumption (a) and 4.5 m for assumption (b). Larger values of maximum span are found for the slab under constructive loads, La Rovere and Santos Neto [21]. It should be noted that no coefcient was applied to account for creep, since preliminary results of the slab long-term behavior have shown no signicant increase in deections after a 4 month period, Santos Neto [22]. 4.2. Design under ultimate loads

dbending

5qL 384EI

dshear

qL

8GA

where L is the slab span; EI the section exural stiffness; GA the section shear stiffness; A A=fs , in which A the cross-sectional area, and fs is the section shape factor, which is given by:

Several failure modes can occur in composite systems made of concrete and FRP components, Bakis et al. [23]. The slab concrete top was designed sufciently thick in order to avoid buckling of the prole walls and shear failure of the concrete, therefore, only three possible failure modes are expected to occur: (1) exural

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failure caused by crushing of the extreme compression ber in the concrete top; (2) shear failure in the GFRP prole at the top ange/ web joint; and (3) bond failure at the GFRP proles/concrete top interface. For exural failure, the ultimate bending moment Mu can be calculated from force equilibrium, strain-compatibility conditions and the constitutive behavior of the materials. It is assumed that GFRP materials behave linear-elastically and that concrete is a nonlinear elastic material, with estimated properties as dened in Section 3. The concrete top and the GFRP proles are assumed to be perfectly bonded and the tensile strength of concrete is neglected. The equivalent rectangular stress block as dened by the ACI 318 [16] is adopted (see Fig. 8), yielding:

Table 4 Total ultimate load predictions for 4-point bending test. Failure mode (1) Bending Ultimate capacities Total ultimate load Mu = 73.50 kNm 2Pu = 172.9 kN (2) Shear web/ange Vu1 = 47.32 kN 2Pu = 94.64 kN (3) Bond (interface) Vu2 = 58.84 kN 2Pu = 117.68 kN

5. Experimental and analytical work Due to the deection limitations described in Section 4.1, only for short crosswalks the composite slab with the selected section shown in Fig. 3 could be employed in its longitudinal direction. For most footbridge deck applications, this slab is to be used transversely, spanning between longitudinal girders. By considering two typical bicycle/pedestrian lanes of 1.20 m width each, a slab prototype of 2.80 m length, with a center-to-center support distance of 2.55 m was selected for the experimental program, described in the following. After the tests, theoretical and numerical analyses were performed for comparison with the exural behavior obtained experimentally (see Sections 5.2 and 5.3). 5.1. Four-point bending tests Three specimens with a total length of 2.80 m and a cross-section of 0.80 m width, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3 were cast and tested under 4-point bending. The loads (P) were applied at a distance L/3 from the supports up to the slab failure, monotonically, under a rate of 10 kN/min. Prior to the tests, the ultimate failure load (Pu) was predicted from force equilibrium, strain-compatibility conditions, and the constitutive behavior of the materials (see Section 4.2). By using estimated values for the concrete compressive strength = 30 MPa and elastic modulus = 26.07 GPa, and also for the GFRP ultimate shear stress = 20.01 MPa; and by using experimental values for the bond strength at the concrete/GFRP interface = 2.53 MPa (see Section 3.4) and also for the GFRP prole elastic moduli (see Table 2), the total ultimate load (2Pu) on the slab can be predicted for the different expected failure modes, as shown in Table 4. It can be observed from the table that the critical failure mode is no. (2), shear failure in the prole, at the web/ange joint.Fabrication of the composite slabs was carried out according to the following steps. First, foam blocks were set on either side of the pultruded proles. Wood planks were then placed upright, along the perimeter, to serve as formwork for the concrete top (see Fig. 9a). Next, the

    tf b x M u C x 1 T f 1 hc x 2 2     3:t f dw T w1 hc x t f T f 1 hc x d w 2 2   2:dw T w2 hc x t f 3

From equilibrium conditions, the neutral axis depth, x, is found to be equal to 39.75 mm, which conrms the assumption that the neutral axis lies in the concrete top. It can also be veried that failure is caused by crushing of concrete, since the strain at the extreme tensile ber is equal to 0.0077, well below the ultimate value e0FRPu 0:032 (see Section 3.2). For failure modes (2) and (3), the ultimate shear capacity (Vus, Vub, respectively) can be obtained from the following equation that gives the shear stress in a certain point of the transformed (cracked) section:

V Q Ib

where b* is the transformed section width at the point; Q, is the rst area moment of the area below (or above) the point with respect to the neutral axis, and, I is the inertia moment of the transformed section. The ultimate capacity Vus is obtained by making s* = sus (the ultimate shear stress in the GFRP prole at the top ange/web joint, see Section 3.1) in expression (5) and Vub is found by taking s* = sub (the bond strength at the interface concrete/GFRP, see Section 3.4). In a previous work, La Rovere and Santos Neto [21] have shown that the Serviceability Limit State (SLS) tends to govern the composite slab design. To investigate the composite slab capacity and its exural behavior up to failure, 4-point bending tests, theoretical and nite element analyses have been carried out, as described in the following.

u =0.003 c
hc tf
Concrete FRP Flange

' 1f c ' fc

1x

Tf1

FRP Web

dw

Tw1 Tw 2

tf

FRP Flange

frp

Tf2

(a)

(b)

(c)

Fig. 8. Flexural strength: (a) strain distribution; (b) actual stress distribution; and (c) stress resultants.

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Fig. 9. Composite slab specimen preparation: (a) foam blocks tted between the proles and (b) resin application on the prole at the interface.

Fig. 10. Four-point bending test apparatus.

Strain gage - concrete

Strain gage - GFRP

Strain gage - concrete

Strain gage - GFRP

Concrete

Foam Block

Foam Block

Foam Block

Pultruded Profile Strain gage - GFRP

Pultruded Profile Strain gage - GFRP

Fig. 11. Strain gage locations along the slab section: at the concrete top, at the interface concrete/proles and at the bottom of the proles.

external face of the proles top ange was sanded with sandpaper 400-grit, cleaned with isopropyl alcohol. The nal surface preparation was accomplished with special products (conditioner phosphoric acid 0.01 N and neutralizer ammonia-based material 0.01 N) to eliminate oxides and acids that might be present on the surface of the prole. Special care was taken in the installation of strain-gages at the prole/concrete interface, in order to provide protection against humidity and the impact from casting the concrete. Sikadur 31 was then applied following the manufacturers recommendations (see Fig. 9b). The concretes mix design was determined to obtain fc0 30 MPa, taking into account the addition of short polypropylene bers (Vf = 0.10%). For each slab specimen, 12 (twelve) cylindrical specimens were prepared, of which six

were used to measure compressive strength and the other six, to determine the concretes elastic modulus. The elastic modulus was obtained from the stressstrain curve, following the procedures given in the Brazilian Code NBR 8522 [24]. After pouring the concrete, all specimens were cured inside the Structural Laboratory of UFSC at environmental conditions, and then tested at an age of 28 days. Fig. 10 shows the test apparatus. To minimize the effects of stress concentration, an OSB (Oriented Strand Board) was placed beneath the load application apparatus and on the supports. The midspan deection was measured by means of two Linear Displacement Transducers (LVDTs), positioned on the lateral faces of the slab. In order to measure any displacements of the concrete cover relative to the GFRP proles, four

Almir Barros da S. Santos Neto, H.L. La Rovere / Composite Structures 92 (2010) 25542564 Table 5 Concrete compressive strength and elastic modulus obtained from tests on cylindrical specimens. Concrete property Average values (six specimens for each slab specimen) Slab specimen 01 Compressive strength (MPa) s.d. (MPa) Elastic modulus (GPa) s.d. (GPa) 35.95 1.15 38.85 1.03 Slab specimen 02 39.93 0.56 43.62 1.38 Slab specimen 03 39.83 1.04 43.56 1.45 38.57 42.01 Average

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Fig. 12. Slab Specimen 01: bond failure mode at the interface concrete top/GFRP prole.

LVDTs were placed at the slabs extremities, xed to the concrete cover and supported by the proles. Moreover, maximum compressive and tensile strains in the slabs central area were measured with strain gages laid out symmetrically, along the transversal section, at midspan. In addition, two strain gages were installed at the concrete/FRP interface, on the external face of each proles top ange (see Fig. 11). Results from the compression tests on the concrete cylindrical specimens in terms of strength and elastic modulus (average values and standard deviation (s.d.) are shown in Table 5. It can be observed that the average experimental values are greater than the estimated values (fc0 30 MPa and Ec = 26.07 GPa, see Section 3.3). Failure modes observed for each slab specimen are described in the following. For specimen 01, a typical bond failure clearly occurred as the concrete cover was debonded from the GFRP prole (see Fig. 12). Two longitudinal cracks one over each prole formed along the entire length of the slabs concrete cover. It should be noted that this failure differs from that which was predicted (see Table 4), and also that this was the specimen that displayed the lowest compressive strength (see Table 5). Fig. 13a shows specimen 02 in deformed conguration, under a total load of 100 kN. For this slab, shear failure occurred in both GFRP proles simultaneously and, as shown by Fig. 13b, vertical cracking propagated along the entire height of the web. For specimen 03, there was a combination of the failure modes described previously, shear failure having occurred in the web of only one of the proles (see Fig. 14a) shortly after failure occurred at the concrete/prole-ange interface; a single crack formed in the concrete, over the prole, along the entire length of the slab (see Fig. 14b).

Fig. 13. Slab specimen 02: (a) deected shape at a load level of 100 kN and (b) observed shear failure mode.

Fig. 14. Slab specimen 03: (a) shear failure in only one GFRP prole (the one on the right side) and (b) longitudinal crack in the concrete top over this prole.

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Total Load (kN)

40

Specimem 01 Specimem 02 Specimem 03

Total Load (kN)

80

L/250

(a)

120

(b)

120

80

40

Specimem 01 Specimem 02 Specimem 03

0 0 10 20 30 40

0 -2000 0 2000 4000 6000

Midspan Displacement (mm)

Strain ( m/m)

Fig. 15. Graphics for the slab specimens: (a) Total Load vs. Midspan Displacement (average value) and (b) Total Load vs. Maximum Strain (average value).

(a)

120

(b)

120

Total Load (kN)

80

Specimem 01 Specimem 02 Specimem 03

40

Specimem 01 Specimem 02 Specimem 03

Total Load (kN)

-500

80

40

0 0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 -2000

-1500 -1000

0 0
500

Slippage (mm)

Strain ( m/m)

Fig. 16. Graphics for the three slab specimens: (a) Total Load vs. Slippage (average value) and (b) Total Load vs. Strain at the interface (average value).

From the measurements, the Total Load vs. Midspan Displacement curves were traced for all specimens in Fig. 15a. It can be observed that the experimental curves basically coincide, with small differences found at ultimate. The failure load obtained was 118.0 kN, 111.0 kN, and 116.9 kN, for Specimens 01, 02 and 03, respectively. These values are quite close and, by comparison with the estimated values shown in Table 3, it can be inferred that the estimated value for bond failure (119.0 kN) is very close to the failure load obtained for Specimen 01, however, for shear failure in the prole, the estimated value (95.7 kN) is lower than the one obtained for Specimen 02, indicating that the prole shear strength was underestimated. It should be noted that the failure load was estimated taking as basis estimated values for the concrete strength and elastic modulus, which are lower than the values obtained experimentally. It should also be pointed out that the average ultimate displacement is around 3.5 times the allowable deection limit (L/250).

Fig. 15b shows the graph Total Load vs. Strain, which are the maximum average values in tension and compression, measured by the strain-gages located at each prole base and at the concrete top, on each side of the slab, in its central region. The graph Total Load vs. Slippage (average values measured at the slab ends) for the three slab specimens is presented in Fig. 16a, and the graph Total Loads vs. Strain at the interface concrete/GFRP (average values from the strain-gages located at the top of each prole) in Fig. 16b. As can be seen from Fig. 16a, slippage values for all specimens were practically null for a total load of up to 100 kN, which indicates that there was a perfect bond between the concrete and pultruded prole. In the case of specimen 01, there was slippage between the components following rupture of the concrete-resin-prole interface, whereas, for specimens 02 and 03, there was almost no slippage before shear failure occurred in the prole. In the case of specimen 03, where there was a combination of prole shear failure and bond failure at the interface, it

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5.3. Post-analysis by means of the FEM A linear-elastic nite element analysis of the slab prototype was also performed, by means of the computer program SAP 2000 [25]. The slab concrete top was modeled by 8-node solid elements; the GFRP proles were modeled by 4-node shell elements; and the foam blocks were disregarded. The materials were assumed to be perfectly bonded at the interface and to behave linear-elastically. The GFRP was considered as an orthotropic material, with equivalent properties as given in Table 1, while concrete was considered isotropic, by using the measured value for the elastic modulus, Ec = 42.01 GPa (Table 5), and by adopting Poissons ratio equal to 0.2. Due to symmetry, only half of the slab specimen was modeled, as shows Fig. 17. Care was taken in the modeling to represent accurately the boundary and loading conditions of the 4-point bending test. Result of the analysis, in comparison with theoretical and experimental results is shown in the following section. 6. Comparison of theoretical, numerical and experimental results Results from the Timoshenko Beam analysis (TBT) and from the linear nite element analysis (FEM), using solid and shell elements, are compared with the experimental results, in terms of a graph Total Load vs. Midspan Displacement drawn in Fig. 18. For the experiments, the curve was traced taking the average between the measurements from Specimens 01, 02 and 03. A good agreement is observed in the overall comparison, with the straight line given by the FEM and by the TBT in the uncracked range almost coinciding, which in turn coincide with the curve obtained experimentally at the early load stages (up to 2P % 10 kN). Beyond that stage the experimental curve starts deviating from the theoretical and numerical curves, showing a nonlinear behavior. As expected, neither the FEM (linear-elastic model) nor the TBT could capture the concrete cover nonlinear behavior observed in the experiments; however, by using cracked section properties, the TBT gives a good estimate of the slab cracked stiffness. It should be noted that the analytical and numerical model are very sensitive to changes in the elastic moduli of the materials, and some variation was observed in the measured values. It can also be observed from the graph that the ultimate load is around three times the load corresponding to the allowable limit L/250, and about 7.4 times the total unfactored service load for footbridges (total dead plus pedestrian load = 6.09 kN/m), hence showing that the SLS governs the slab design for the selected span. 7. Concluding remarks and future work In this work, a composite concrete/GFRP slab developed for footbridge deck systems is presented. To characterize the material properties of the slab components, theoretical and experimental studies were initially conducted. To investigate the slab exural behavior up to failure, three slab specimens of 0.80 m width and a selected span of 2.55 m were tested under 4-point bending. Up to a load level around 100 kN, the behavior of the three specimens was quite similar, with the resulting loaddisplacement curves basically coinciding. The obtained ultimate loads were very close, but the specimens displayed different failure modes: (1) Specimen 01 bond failure at the concrete top/GFRP prole interface, in both sides of the slab; (2) Specimen 02 shear failure in both prole webs, simultaneously; (3) Specimen 03 a combination of failure modes (1) and (2) in only one prole, along one side of the slab. Results indicate that both failure modes (1) and (2) can be critical. The second failure mode is easier to circumvent than the rst one, since the shear resistance of the proles can be improved, either by adding 45 glass ber plies to

Fig. 17. Finite element model utilized in the linear-elastic analysis of the slab specimen under 4-point bending.

120
L/250

Total Load (kN)

80

Pcr (TBT)

40

FEM TBT Experiments

0 0 10 20 30 40 50 60

Midspan Displacement (mm)

Fig. 18. Total Load vs. Midspan Displacement graphs: comparison of TBT, FEM and experiments.

was not possible to measure slippage however, Fig. 16b does show a changing trend, near failure load, for strain at the interface. For specimen 01, Fig. 16b shows an inversion in the graph from tensile to compressive strain which was due to a change in the position of the neutral axis caused by cracking in the slab and by debonding of the concrete cover from the pultruded proles. 5.2. Post-analysis using TBT A simplied analysis of the composite slab prototype, assuming one-way action under 4-point bending, was then performed, by using the Timoshenko Beam Theory (TBT) and the Transformed Area Approach. It is assumed that the materials concrete and GFRP are perfectly bonded and that concrete behaves linear-elastically prior to cracking. The equivalent properties of the transformed section are now calculated using properties obtained experimentally for the GFRP proles, E = 32.86 GPa and G = 2.67 GPa (Table 2) and also for the concrete Ec = 42.01 GPa (Table 5). By using these equivalent properties for the uncracked and cracked section, and the estimated value of tensile strength of concrete (see Section 3.3), a bi-linear Total Load vs. Midspan Displacement curve can be traced. This theoretical curve will be compared to the ones obtained experimentally and numerically in Section 6 (see Fig. 18).

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Almir Barros da S. Santos Neto, H.L. La Rovere / Composite Structures 92 (2010) 25542564 [4] Mattje A. Durability studies of reinforced and prestressed concrete bridges in Santa Catarina highway system, Brazil. Master thesis (in Portuguese), Federal University of Santa Catarina, Civil Engineering Dept, Florianpolis; 2003. [5] Deskovic N, Triantallou TC, Meier U. Innovative design of FRP combined with concrete: short-term behavior. J Struct Eng 1995;121(7):106978. [6] Karbhari VM, Seible F, Burgueo R, Davol A, Wernli M, Zhao L. Structural characterization of ber-reinforced composite short and medium-span bridge systems. Appl Compos Mater 2000;7:15182. [7] Zhao L, Karbhari VM, Seible F, Burgueo R, La Rovere HL, Brostrm M et al. Experimental investigation of prototype transverse system for the Gilman drive advanced technology over-crossing. Report no. SSRP-2001/04, Department of Structural Engineering, University of California, San Diego; 2001. [8] Seible F, Burgueo R. Advanced composites in pedestrian bridge design. ASCE structures congress, Portland, Oregon; February 1997. [9] Associao Brasileira de Normas Tcnicas ABNT. Laje pr-fabricada Requisitos. Parte 1: Lajes unidirecionais. Rio de Janeiro, NBR 14859-1; 2002. [10] Kaw AK. Mechanics of composite materials. New York (USA): CRC Press LLC; 1997. [11] American Society for Testing and Materials Standard test method for tensile properties of polymer matrix composite materials. ASTM D 3039. Philadelphia; 1995. [12] Bank LC. Flexural and shear moduli of full-section ber reinforced plastic (FRP) pultruded beams. J Test Eval, JTEVA 1989;17(1):405. [13] Santos Neto ABS, La Rovere HL. Flexural stiffness characterization of ber reinforced plastic (FRP) pultruded beams. Compos Struct 2007;81(2):27482. [14] Associao Brasileira de Normas Tcnicas ABNT. Cimento Portland Composto. Rio de Janeiro, NBR 11578; 2001. [15] Associao Brasileira de Normas Tcnicas ABNT. Projeto de estruturas de concreto Procedimento. Rio de Janeiro, NBR 6118; 2003. [16] American Concrete Institute. Building code requirements for structural concrete (ACI 318-05), ACI committee 318, USA; 2005. [17] Kraai PP. A proposed test to determine the cracking potential due to drying shrinkage of concrete. Concr Constr 1985;30(9):7758. [18] Balaguru P. Contribution of bers to crack reduction of cement composites during the initial and nal setting period. ACI Mater J 1994;91(3):2808. [19] Santos Neto, ABS, Pelisser, F, La Rovere, HL, Pinto, RCA. Inuence of the addition of bers in concrete on shrinkage cracking in thin slabs. In: IV international ACI/CANMET conference on quality of concrete structures and recent advances in concrete materials and testing, 2005, Olinda; 2005. [20] Associao Brasileira de Normas Tcnicas ABNT. Carga Mvel em Ponte Rodoviria e Passarela de Pedestre. Rio de Janeiro, NBR 7188; 1982. [21] La Rovere HL, Santos Neto ABS. Composite slab concrete/FRP proles: design for crosswalk deck applications. In: Fourth international conference on science and technology of composite materials COMAT 2007, v. 03. Rio de Janeiro: Authentic Multimedia; 2007. [22] Santos Neto, A.B.S. Development of a composite concrete/GFRP slab for footbridge deck systems. Ph.D. dissertation (in Portuguese), Federal University of Santa Catarina, Civil Engineering Dept, Florianpolis; 2006. [23] Bakis CE, Bank LC, Brown VL, Cosenza E, Davalos JF, Lesko JJ, et al. Fiberreinforced polymer composites for construction state-of-the-art review. J Compos Constr 2002;6(2):7387 [ASCE]. [24] Associao Brasileira de Normas Tcnicas ABNT. Concreto Determinao do mdulo de deformao esttica e diagrama tenso-deformao. Rio de Janeiro, NBR 8522; 1984. [25] SAP 2000 PLUS Integrated Finite Elements Analysis and Design of Structures. Berkeley (CA, USA): Computers and Structures, Inc.; 1998 [6.13].

the web (taking care not to compromise the longitudinal elastic modulus), or by using different section shapes, like a double-web WF section. Regarding the rst failure mode, the use of connectors could increase only to some extent the ultimate failure load, although ductility would certainly increase. After the tests, a simplied analysis using Timoshenko Beam Theory (TBT) and a linear-elastic nite element analysis (FEM) were conducted for comparison with the structural behavior obtained experimentally. A good agreement was observed in the overall comparison of Total Load vs. Midspan Displacement curves. The theoretical, numerical and experimental curves basically coincide at early load stage, but beyond that stage the experimental curve starts deviating from the others, due to the nonlinear behavior of the concrete cover. However, by using the cracked section properties, the TBT gives a good estimate of the slab cracked stiffness. It was also observed that the Serviceability Limit State governs the slab design for the selected span. Results of the studies performed up to now are very promising. Nevertheless, the full viability of the composite slab application to footbridge deck systems still requires further studies. An experimental program to investigate the composite slab behavior under concentrated loads (punching shear in the concrete top and shear in the GFRP proles), its long-term and dynamic behavior (vibration control for pedestrian loads), and also durability issues, is currently under way. Other GFRP prole sections will also be investigated, with emphasis given on improving the prole shear resistance, in such a way that a single failure mode (bond slip at the GFRP/concrete interface) is expected to occur in the slab. Acknowledgements The authors gratefully acknowledge FAPESC (Fundao de Apoio Pesquisa Cientca e Tecnolgica do Estado de Santa Catarina) for the nancial support, and also CSE Composites Materiais Compostos, for providing the GFRP proles used in all experiments. Thanks are also due to SIKA, for providing the resins, and TECNOCELL for the EPS blocks, used in the experimental program. References
[1] Alampalli S, OConnor J, Yannotti AP. Fiber reinforced polymer composites for the superstructure of a short-span rural bridge. Compos Struct 2002;58:217. [2] Hollaway LC. The evolution of and the way forward for advanced polymer composites in the civil infrastructure. Constr Build Mater 2003;17:36578. [3] Mufti AA. FRPs and FOSs lead to innovation in Canadian civil engineering structures. Constr Build Mater 2003;17:37987.