Potential Use of Fibre-Steel Laminates in Hybrid Deck Systems

Potential Use of Fibre-Steel Laminates in Hybrid Deck Systems

Dreaves, Alex (TU Delft Civil Engineering and Geosciences)

Pavlovic, Marko (mentor)
Veljkovic, Milan (graduation committee)
van der Meer, Frans (graduation committee)
Grefhorst, Ronald (graduation committee)

Delft University of Technology

Civil Engineering

2018-07-13

Over the last two decades Fibre-Reinforced Polymer (FRP) constructions have infiltrated the infrastructure market, particularly in the Netherlands. This is due to the increased number of short-span pedestrian and cycle bridges which are used to traverse canals and waterways. FRP bridges are desirable as they are light-weight, require low maintenance, are easily pre-fabricated and can be installed in a matter of hours.
However, the main drawback of FRP constructions is that they lack stiffness meaning they are often vastly over-designed with regards to strength. The stiffness of glass fibre-reinforced polymers (GFRP), one of the most common types of FRP and the focus of this thesis, is approximately 5 times less than steel (1). For this reason, it is desirable to increase the stiffness of GFRP members; one way of doing such is to add a stiffer material to the laminate to create a hybrid-composite material. Hybrid-composites look to combine the advantageous properties of two materials, to produce a material superior to both of its individual component materials.
This project focuses on the development and feasibility review of a fibre-steel hybrid-composite material, combining GFRP and steel into one laminate. A review of the state of the art of hybrid-composites guides the reader to potential problems that may arise with this combination. Through the testing and analytical estimation of the properties of the material and its component materials, the behaviour of the fibre-steel laminate (FSL) is discussed and evaluated. Using the established properties, a design case study of a hybrid deck system reviews the economic feasibility of the use of FSL ahead of the GFRP equivalent.
The results of this two-fold approach form recommendations for the next steps of the investigation into the use of this material. It is recommended that the main focus of subsequent studies revolve around the improvement of the steel-GFRP interface as this was found to be a weak point in the material given the difference in in-plane properties of the two materials.

FRP
GFRP
FSL
Fibre-Steel

http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:96817282-be82-40b2-affe-67ba6d2d56a6

Student theses

master thesis

© 2018 Alex Dreaves