Preliminary Performance Observations for an FRP Reinforced Concrete Bridge Deck

High strength and lightweight fiber reinforced polymers (FRP) are also corrosion resistant, qualities that make them a promising alternative to traditional steel reinforcement commonly used in bridge decks. This paper describes the health monitoring system that is being implemented on a 3500 square foot replacement concrete bridge deck reinforced completely with glass FRP reinforcing bars in Cuyahoga County, Ohio. At the time this paper was prepared, a preliminary load test of the new deck had just been recently performed, and early indications were that heavy wheel loads could be carried with resulting transverse curvatures of no more than 40% of the expected curvature at first flexural cracking, by ACI 318 criteria.