A Review of Fibre Reinforced Polymer Bridges

Abstract

Fibre-reinforced polymer composites (FRPs) offer various benefits for bridge construction. Lightweight, durability, design flexibility and fast erection in inaccessible areas are their unique selling points for bridge engineering. FRPs are used in four bridge applications: (1) FRP rebars/tendons in concrete; (2) repair and strengthening of existing bridges; (3) new hybrid–FRP bridges with conventional materials and (4) all–FRP composite new bridges made entirely of FRP materials. This paper reviews FRP bridges, including all–FRP and hybrid–FRP bridges. FRP bridges’ history, materials, processes and bridge components—deck, girder, truss, moulded parts and cables/rebars are considered. This paper does not discuss the use of FRP as an architectural element and a strengthening system. While lack of design codes, material specifications and recycling are the major challenges, the high cost of FRPs still remains the most critical barrier to the progress of FRPs in bridges.

Feasibility of Repairing Concrete with Ultra-High Molecular Weight Polyethylene Fiber Cloth: A Comprehensive Literature Review

“…FRP is composed of two main components: one is a strength material, mainly derived from fibers, and the other is a polymer matrix material used to bond and protect fibers [174]. Currently, the types of popular fibers used in concrete repair are glass, carbon, and aramid [175]. Basalt FRPs have only been tried for retrofitting concrete structures in the past decade [176].…”

Innovative Pultruded Composite Mast Design for Railway Overhead Line Structures

“…Pultrusion manufacturing is a highly automated continuous fibre laminating process producing high-fibre volume profiles with a constant cross-section; it is one of the most cost-effective and energy-efficient manufacturing processes to produce high strength to weight ratio profiles [11]. Numerous different applications of pultruded FRPs have been explored and implemented, from high-fatigue-resistant CFRP supports in bridge construction, to extremely high-volume fraction CFRP fibres for impact-resistant car bumpers in the automotive sector [12,13]. Although significantly more scarce, applications using pultrusion manufacturing in specific railway applications are already being investigated [14][15][16].…”