Use of fibre reinforced polymer reinforcement integrated with fibre optic sensors for concrete bridge deck slab construction

The use of corrosion free fibre reinforced polymer (FRP) composites as reinforcement to concrete is currently being seen as a promising option to generate durable concrete structures. However, there exists very little credible information about its field application and performance. This paper describes the Joffre Bridge project, in Sherbrooke (Qu\ue9bec, Canada), over the St-Fran\ue7ois River, where Carbon Fibre Reinforced Polymer (CFRP) was used as reinforcement for a portion of the concrete deck slab. The bridge consists of five longitudinal spans with lengthsvarying from 26 to 37 m. Each span has a concrete deck supported by five steel girders at 3.7 m. A part of the concrete deck slab (7.3 \ud7 11.5 m) and a portion of the traffic barrier and the sidewalk were reinforced with Carbon (CFRP) and Glass Fibre Reinforced Polymer (GFRP) reinforcement. The bridge was extensively instrumented with many different types of gauges, including integrated fibre optic sensors (FOS) into FRP reinforcement. The performance of the bridge had been assessed under static and dynamic loading using calibrated heavy trucks. Moreover, structural design and construction details of the bridge and instrumentation were performed. The results from calibrated field tests on the bridge are presented in this paper.L'utilisation de composites, non sujet \ue0 la corrosion, en polym\ue8re renforc\ue9 de fibres (PRF) en tant que renfort du b\ue9ton sont vus comme une option prometteuse pour g\ue9n\ue9rer des structures de b\ue9ton durables. Cependant, il existe tr\ue8s peu d'informations cr\ue9dibles \ue0 propos de leur application et performance sur le terrain. Cet article d\ue9crit leprojet du pont Joffre, \ue0 Sherbrooke (Qu\ue9bec, Canada), au-dessus de la rivi\ue8re Saint-Fran\ue7ois, o\uf9 un polym\ue8re renforc\ue9 de fibres de carbone (PRFC) a \ue9t\ue9 utilis\ue9 en tant que renfort pour une portion de la dalle en b\ue9ton du tablier. Le pont consiste en cinq trav\ue9es longitudinales dont la longueur varie de 26 \ue0 37 m. Chaque trav\ue9e a un tablier de b\ue9ton support\ue9 par cinq poutres d'acier \ue0 3,7 m. Une partie du tablier de pont (7,3 \ud7 11,5 m), et une portion de la barri\ue8re de circulation et du trottoir ont \ue9t\ue9 renforc\ue9es avec du polym\ue8re renforc\ue9 de fibre de carbone (PRFC) et de verre (PRFV). Le pont a \ue9t\ue9 largement instrument\ue9 avec diff\ue9rents types de jauges, incluant des senseurs \ue0 fibres optiques (SFO) \ue0 l'int\ue9rieur du renforcement en PRF. La performance du pont a \ue9t\ue9 \ue9valu\ue9e sous des chargements statiques et dynamiques par l'utilisation de camions lourds calibr\ue9s. De plus, la conception structurale et les d\ue9tails de construction du pont et de l'instrumentation ont \ue9t\ue9 accomplis. Les r\ue9sultats provenant de tests calibr\ue9s sur le terrain pour le pont sont pr\ue9sent\ue9s dans cet article.Peer reviewed: YesNRC publication: Ye