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TRANSPORTATION RESEARCH BOARD WASHINGTON, D.C. 2006 www.TRB.org N A T I O N A L C O O P E R A T I V E H I G H W A Y R E S E A R C H P R O G R A M NCHRP REPORT 564 Research sponsored by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials in cooperation with the Federal Highway Administration Subject Areas Bridges, Other Structures, and Hydraulics and Hydrology Field Inspection of In-Service FRP Bridge Decks Niket M. Telang CONSTRUCTION TECHNOLOGY LABORATORIES, INC. Skokie, IL Chris Dumlao DUMLAO CONSULTING, INC. Pleasanton, CA Armin B. Mehrabi BRIDGE ENGINEERING SOLUTIONS, INC. Lewiston, NY Adrian T. Ciolko CONSTRUCTION TECHNOLOGY LABORATORIES, INC. Skokie, IL Jim Gutierrez CALIFORNIA MARITIME ACADEMY Vallejo, CA
NATIONAL COOPERATIVE HIGHWAY RESEARCH PROGRAM Systematic, well-designed research provides the most effective approach to the solution of many problems facing highway administrators and engineers. Often, highway problems are of local interest and can best be studied by highway departments individually or in cooperation with their state universities and others. However, the accelerating growth of highway transportation develops increasingly complex problems of wide interest to highway authorities. These problems are best studied through a coordinated program of cooperative research. In recognition of these needs, the highway administrators of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials initiated in 1962 an objective national highway research program employing modern scientific techniques. This program is supported on a continuing basis by funds from participating member states of the Association and it receives the full cooperation and support of the Federal Highway Administration, United States Department of Transportation. The Transportation Research Board of the National Academies was requested by the Association to administer the research program because of the Boardâs recognized objectivity and understanding of modern research practices. The Board is uniquely suited for this purpose as it maintains an extensive committee structure from which authorities on any highway transportation subject may be drawn; it possesses avenues of communications and cooperation with federal, state and local governmental agencies, universities, and industry; its relationship to the National Research Council is an insurance of objectivity; it maintains a full-time research correlation staff of specialists in highway transportation matters to bring the findings of research directly to those who are in a position to use them. The program is developed on the basis of research needs identified by chief administrators of the highway and transportation departments and by committees of AASHTO. Each year, specific areas of research needs to be included in the program are proposed to the National Research Council and the Board by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials. Research projects to fulfill these needs are defined by the Board, and qualified research agencies are selected from those that have submitted proposals. Administration and surveillance of research contracts are the responsibilities of the National Research Council and the Transportation Research Board. The needs for highway research are many, and the National Cooperative Highway Research Program can make significant contributions to the solution of highway transportation problems of mutual concern to many responsible groups. The program, however, is intended to complement rather than to substitute for or duplicate other highway research programs. Published reports of the NATIONAL COOPERATIVE HIGHWAY RESEARCH PROGRAM are available from: Transportation Research Board Business Office 500 Fifth Street, NW Washington, DC 20001 and can be ordered through the Internet at: http://www.national-academies.org/trb/bookstore Printed in the United States of America NCHRP REPORT 564 Price $42.00 Project 10-64 ISSN 0077-5614 ISBN: 0-309-09856-4 Library of Congress Control Number 2006927150 © 2006 Transportation Research Board COPYRIGHT PERMISSION Authors herein are responsible for the authenticity of their materials and for obtaining written permissions from publishers or persons who own the copyright to any previously published or copyrighted material used herein. Cooperative Research Programs (CRP) grants permission to reproduce material in this publication for classroom and not-for-profit purposes. Permission is given with the understanding that none of the material will be used to imply TRB, AASHTO, FAA, FHWA, FMCSA, FTA, or Transit Development Corporation endorsement of a particular product, method, or practice. It is expected that those reproducing the material in this document for educational and not-for-profit uses will give appropriate acknowledgment of the source of any reprinted or reproduced material. For other uses of the material, request permission from CRP. NOTICE The project that is the subject of this report was a part of the National Cooperative Highway Research Program conducted by the Transportation Research Board with the approval of the Governing Board of the National Research Council. Such approval reflects the Governing Boardâs judgment that the program concerned is of national importance and appropriate with respect to both the purposes and resources of the National Research Council. The members of the technical committee selected to monitor this project and to review this report were chosen for recognized scholarly competence and with due consideration for the balance of disciplines appropriate to the project. The opinions and conclusions expressed or implied are those of the research agency that performed the research, and, while they have been accepted as appropriate by the technical committee, they are not necessarily those of the Transportation Research Board, the National Research Council, the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, or the Federal Highway Administration, U.S. Department of Transportation. Each report is reviewed and accepted for publication by the technical committee according to procedures established and monitored by the Transportation Research Board Executive Committee and the Governing Board of the National Research Council. The Transportation Research Board of the National Academies, the National Research Council, the Federal Highway Administration, the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, and the individual states participating in the National Cooperative Highway Research Program do not endorse products or manufacturers. Trade or manufacturersâ names appear herein solely because they are considered essential to the object of this report.
CRP STAFF FOR NCHRP REPORT 564 Robert J. Reilly, Director, Cooperative Research Programs Crawford F. Jencks, Manager, NCHRP David B. Beal, Senior Program Officer Eileen P. Delaney, Director of Publications Andrea Briere, Editor Beth Hatch, Editor NCHRP PROJECT 10-64 PANEL Field of Materials and ConstructionâArea of Specifications, Procedures, and Practices Paul V. Liles, Jr., Georgia DOT, Atlanta, GA (Chair) Laura M. Amundson, Parsons Brinckerhoff, Minneapolis, MN Rajinder P. Chawla, New Jersey DOT Thomas J. Harrington, California DOT Amir Mirmiran, Florida International University, Miami, FL Guillermo Ramirez, University of Texas, Arlington Steven M. Soltesz, Oregon DOT Arthur P. Yannotti, New York State DOT Eric P. Munley, FHWA Liaison Frank N. Lisle, TRB Liaison AUTHOR ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The research presented in this report was performed under NCHRP Project 10-64 by Construction Technology Laboratories, Inc. (CTL), along with sub-consultants Dumlao Consulting and Jim Gutierrez. Niket M. Telang at CTL was the original principal investigator for this project; Adrian Ciolko of CTL led the project through completion of outstanding tasks commencing in July 2004. Armin Mehrabi (for- merly of CTL), Project Consultant from Bridge Engineering Solutions, Inc., and Chris Dumlao of Dum- lao Consulting, Inc., were members of the research team. C O O P E R A T I V E R E S E A R C H P R O G R A M S
This report contains a manual for the in-service inspection of fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) bridge decks. Documentation of the research leading to the development of the inspection manual is also included. The material in this report will be of immediate inter- est to FRP bridge inspectors, designers, and owners. Inspection and monitoring of FRP structures varies widely, from no monitoring, to visual inspection, to experimental nondestructive evaluation techniques. The criteria for field inspection should be based on identification of critical components of FRP decks and determination of critical accumulated damage thresholds in those components. Other inspection issues include accuracy and reliability requirements for inspection data, contin- uous versus periodic data collection, depth and frequency of inspection, reliability require- ments for equipment and sensors, and calibration of the guidelines with field project data. In addition, the type of inspection data collected and the recording format vary. As a consequence, it is difficult to compare one project with another. Thus, there is a need for a standard inspection reporting format to make such comparisons possible. Comparative data would also help the composites industry to refine the technology to better meet the statesâ needs. The objective of this research was to develop recommended field procedures, evalua- tion guidelines, and reporting standards for periodic inspection of in-service FRP bridge decks. This material has been assembled into a detailed inspection manual covering all aspects of FRP deck inspection. A report documenting the research effort leading to the development of the manual is bound with the manual, and extensive appendices to the report are available on the NCHRP website. An instructorâs guide, composed of a series of PowerPoint slides suitable for use in an in-house training program in the application of the inspection manual, is available from NCHRP. This research was performed at the Construction Technology Laboratories, Inc., with the assistance of Dumlao Consulting, Inc.; Bridge Engineering Solutions, Inc.; and Califor- nia Maritime Academy. F O R E W O R D By David B. Beal Staff Officer Transportation Research Board
C O N T E N T S P A R T I INSPECTION MANUAL 1 Summary: Inspection Manual 2 Section 1 Introduction 2 1.1 Purpose of the Manual 2 1.2 Applicability of Manual 3 1.3 Intended Users 3 1.4 Background 3 1.5 Manual Organization 4 1.6 How to Use the Manual 7 Section 2 FRP Material 7 2.1 Historical Perspective 7 2.2 FRP and its Use in Civil Applications 8 2.3 FRP Material 9 2.3.1 Basic Constituent Components of the Laminate 15 2.3.2 Other Materials 16 2.4 Discussion on Structural FRP Components 18 Section 3 FRP Decks and Installation Practice 18 3.1 Introduction 18 3.2 Design and Behavior Requirements 19 3.3 Types of FRP Decks 19 3.3.1 Type 1: Honeycomb Sandwich 19 3.3.2 Type 2: Solid Core Sandwich 20 3.3.3 Type 3: Hollow Core Sandwich 20 3.4 Key Manufacturers 21 3.5 Discussion of Manufacturing Methods and Deck Types 21 3.5.1 Hand Lay-up or Open Molding 23 3.5.2 Vacuum-Assisted Resin-Transfer Molding 23 3.5.3 Pultrusion 24 3.5.4 Filament Winding 25 3.5.5 Adhesive Bonding 25 3.5.6 Secondary Assembly 25 3.5.7 Finishing 26 3.6 General Delivery and Installation Procedure 26 3.7 Typical Deck Installation 26 3.7.1 Panel Sizes 27 3.7.2 Installation Process 27 3.7.3 Joint Details 36 3.7.4 Wearing Surface 36 3.7.5 Curbs, Sidewalks, Parapets, and Railings
39 Section 4 Significant Deck Details and Damage Types 39 4.1 Overview 39 4.2 Deck External Details 39 4.2.1 Panel-to-Panel Connections 41 4.2.2 Deck-to-Girder Connections 44 4.2.3 Approach Joints 45 4.2.4 Wearing Surfaces 45 4.2.5 Curbs, Sidewalks, Parapets, and Railings 46 4.3 Deck Panel Internal Details 46 4.3.1 Facesheets 47 4.3.2 Sandwich Cores 47 4.3.3 Edges and Closeouts 47 4.4 Visual Signs of Damage and Defects in FRP Material 48 4.4.1 Blistering 48 4.4.2 Voids 49 4.4.3 Discoloration 50 4.4.4 Wrinkling 50 4.4.5 Fiber Exposure 51 4.4.6 Cracks 52 4.4.7 Scratches 53 Section 5 Inspection 53 5.1 Types of Inspection 53 5.1.1 Visual Inspection 54 5.1.2 Tap Testing 55 5.1.3 Thermal Testing 57 5.1.4 Acoustic Testing 58 5.1.5 Ultrasonic Testing 59 5.1.6 Radiography 59 5.1.7 Modal Analysis 60 5.1.8 Load Testing 62 5.1.9 Comparison of Methods 64 5.1.10 Inspector Qualifications, Site Safety, and Other Issues 64 5.2 Inspection of FRP Decks 65 5.2.1 Inspection of External Details 75 5.2.2 Inspection of Internal Details 81 5.3 Frequency and Depth of Inspection 82 Section 6 Recordkeeping 82 6.1 Need for Standard Nomenclature for Parts, Locations, and Damages 82 6.2 Procedure for Recording Observations 83 6.3 Evaluation of Historic Data 84 6.4 Standard Checklists 84 6.4.1 Pre-Inspection Checklist 85 6.4.2 Checklist of Details and Items to Be Inspected 85 6.4.3 FRP Damage Types Checklist 86 6.4.4 Inspection and Test Methods Checklist 86 6.5 Inspection Forms 91 Section 7 Condition Assessment 91 7.1 Condition Rating of FRP Decks 92 7.1.1 Guidelines for Assessment and Condition Rating of FRP Decks
93 7.1.2 Condition Rating of the FRP Deck Structure 97 7.1.3 Condition Rating of Other Deck Features 100 7.2 Correlation of Damage to Likely Causes 101 7.2.1 Effects of Vehicular Loads 101 7.2.2 Effect of Punching Loads 102 7.2.3 Effect of Environmental and Other Loads 104 7.2.4 Other Effects 105 7.3 Evaluation of Continued Existence of Causal Elements 105 7.4 Reference 106 Section 8 Case Study of the Salem Avenue Bridge 112 Glossary of Common Composites Industry Terms 119 Index P A R T I I REPORT 124 Summary: Report 125 Chapter 1 Introduction and Research Approach 125 1.1 Background 126 1.2 NCHRP Project Statement and Research Tasks 128 1.3 Research Approach 129 1.4 Research Tasks 133 1.5 Report Organization 135 Chapter 2 Findings 135 2.1 Survey Findings 135 2.1.1 Types of FRP Decks in Service 137 2.1.2 Current Condition of FRP Deck Inventory 139 2.1.3 Current Inspection Practice 140 2.2 Findings from the Literature Survey 140 2.2.1 Historical Perspective on FRP Use 141 2.2.2 State of Research and Testing of FRP Decks 142 2.2.3 Inspection and Assessment of FRP Components 143 2.2.4 Damage Thresholds and Remaining Life Prediction 145 2.3 Key Publications 147 Chapter 3 Interpretation and Applications 147 3.1 Issues with Design Variants 148 3.2 Issues with Current Inspection Practice 149 3.3 Classification of Significant Details 150 3.4 Inspection Methods, Their Applicability, Costs, and Other Issues 152 3.5 Details and Designs that Will Be Difficult to Inspect 153 3.6 Inferring and Interpreting Inspection Results 155 Chapter 4 Conclusions 158 References for Report 163 Appendixes for Report
