Development of A Life Prediction
Methodology for Hybrid FRP Beams for Deck/Girder Bridges
Jolyn Senne, John J. Lesko, Scott W. Case, and Tommy Cousins
As fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) structures find application in
highway bridge structures, methodologies for describing their long-term performance under
service loading will be a necessity for designers. The designer of FRP bridge structures
is faced with out-of-plane damage and delamination at ply interfaces. The damage most
often occurs between hybrid plys and dominates the life time response of a thick section
FRP structure. In this discussion a model is developed to address delamination in a hybrid
beam under fatigue loading. The methodology employs the quadratic delamination initiation
failure criteria, in conjunction with a delamination growth law to describe the
out-of-plane damage under bending. These phenomena are combined with the critical element
residual strength life prediction tool to determine remaining bending stiffness and moment
capacity of a pultruded and hybrid FRP 20.3 cm deep structural shape. The model
successfully describes the onset of delamination prior to fiber failure and suggests that
out-of-plane failure controls the life of the structure.