Lifting of GFRP Precast Concrete Bridge Deck Panels

Abstract

The Beaver Creek Bridge on U.S. Highway 6 is a single-span bridge and a pilot project for glass fiber–reinforced polymer (GFRP) precast bridge decks in Utah using accelerated bridge construction (ABC). The Utah Department of Transportation decided to evaluate GFRP bars as an alternative to steel bars for reinforcing the bridge deck. The precast concrete panels were 12.62-m long, 2.08-m wide, and 235-mm thick and were reinforced entirely with GFRP bars. The bridge deck panels were lifted from the underside at four points using steel cables inside steel tubes or nylon straps instead of embedded steel anchors. Two of the 24 panels used to construct the bridge deck were instrumented with strain gauges. Experimental strain measurements showed that the panels exhibited acceptable levels of strain that were below concrete cracking limits. By comparison, similar laboratory panels with identical thickness and reinforcement that were lifted with four embedded anchors from the panel top experienced cracks on the underside of the panels. A finite element model confirmed the experimental results by predicting that the bridge deck panels would not crack during four-point lifting from the underside.