The European project SUREBridge – A case study in Tuscany

The European project SUREBridge (Sustainable Refurbishment of Existing Bridges) is develop-ing a new concept for the refurbishment of road bridges. The proposed technique takes ad-vantage of the peculiarities of fibre-reinforced materials to perform upgrading, repair, and strengthening in an effective and efficient way in terms of resource consumption, waste produc-tion, construction time, and traffic disruption. The technique applies to bridges with reinforced concrete slab and longitudinal girders made of either reinforced concrete or steel. Longitudinal girders are strengthened by bonding carbon fibre-reinforced polymer (CFRP) laminates to their bottom surfaces. Higher structural perfor-mances are achieved by pre-stressing the CFRP laminates. The existing concrete slab is not demolished, with savings in both construction time and waste production. Instead, tailor-made glass fibre-reinforced polymer (GFRP) panels are connected to the deck to increase its overall bending strength. Furthermore, GFRP panels enable the widening of the road section, if neces-sary to upgrade the bridge to increased traffic demand. This paper presents the application of the SUREBridge technique to a real bridge located in San Miniato, Tuscany, Italy. The designed intervention includes both the widening of the road section and the structural strengthening of the deck to comply with current traffic loads

Techniques of off-site fabrication and on-site assembly of new bridges

This report presents deliverable D4.18 defined as ‘Techniques for off-site fabrication and on-site assembly of new bridges’, which is a result from Work package 4, Task 4.2.The main aim of the PANTURA project is to "improve highly flexible off-site production and construction processes, create resource-efficient construction sites with minimum carbon emissions, improve technol- ogies and tools for bridge construction in densely populated areas and enhance communication between local authorities and construction companies.” With regard to this main aim, the goal of this report is to develop technologies for construction of new bridges in densely populated areas that enable total con- struction time reduction by at least 20%. To reach this goal, interest is focused on fast on-site assembly with regard to the connections between bridge elements, such as fibre reinforced polymer (FRP) decks and steel girders.Firstly, an extensive literature review about industrialized construction methods is conducted. The practi- cal problems involved mainly during assembly are brought up and new assembly techniques involving fibre reinforced polymer materials are proposed. The new assembly techniques are developed by transfer- ring knowledge from other sectors for potential use in construction with an emphasis on design for manu- facturing and assembly. These techniques are evaluated taking into account the voice of the customer. After evaluation, the promising techniques are further studied by advanced numerical analyses. Laborato- ry testing is performed on one potential connection between FRP bridge deck panels and it is found that this connection is sufficiently stiff and strong for use in bridges, and it enables immediate assembly. The potential use of this technique is demonstrated in one case study bridge, Koninginne bridge located in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. Design recommendations for the FRP-steel composite bridges are devel- oped. In addition, a life-cycle assessment and life-cycle cost analysis is performed to determine the cost efficiency and environmental impact of the new proposed solutions compared with traditional bridge con- struction methods.The participating partners in WP4/Task 4.2 and in the preparation of this deliverable are CTH (Sweden), ACC (Spain), MOS (Poland), AIC (Italy) and TRV (Sweden). The work in this report has been carried out from January 2011 to December 2013

Techniques of off-site fabrication and on-site assembly of new bridges

This report presents deliverable D4.18 defined as ‘Techniques for off-site fabrication and on-site assembly of new bridges’, which is a result from Work package 4, Task 4.2.The main aim of the PANTURA project is to "improve highly flexible off-site production and construction processes, create resource-efficient construction sites with minimum carbon emissions, improve technol- ogies and tools for bridge construction in densely populated areas and enhance communication between local authorities and construction companies.” With regard to this main aim, the goal of this report is to develop technologies for construction of new bridges in densely populated areas that enable total con- struction time reduction by at least 20%. To reach this goal, interest is focused on fast on-site assembly with regard to the connections between bridge elements, such as fibre reinforced polymer (FRP) decks and steel girders.Firstly, an extensive literature review about industrialized construction methods is conducted. The practi- cal problems involved mainly during assembly are brought up and new assembly techniques involving fibre reinforced polymer materials are proposed. The new assembly techniques are developed by transfer- ring knowledge from other sectors for potential use in construction with an emphasis on design for manu- facturing and assembly. These techniques are evaluated taking into account the voice of the customer. After evaluation, the promising techniques are further studied by advanced numerical analyses. Laborato- ry testing is performed on one potential connection between FRP bridge deck panels and it is found that this connection is sufficiently stiff and strong for use in bridges, and it enables immediate assembly. The potential use of this technique is demonstrated in one case study bridge, Koninginne bridge located in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. Design recommendations for the FRP-steel composite bridges are devel- oped. In addition, a life-cycle assessment and life-cycle cost analysis is performed to determine the cost efficiency and environmental impact of the new proposed solutions compared with traditional bridge con- struction methods.The participating partners in WP4/Task 4.2 and in the preparation of this deliverable are CTH (Sweden), ACC (Spain), MOS (Poland), AIC (Italy) and TRV (Sweden). The work in this report has been carried out from January 2011 to December 2013

Il progetto europeo SUREBridge - Un utilizzo innovativo dei materiali compositi per il recupero sostenibile dei ponti stradali esistenti

Il progetto di ricerca europeo SUREBridge (Sustainable Refurbishment of Existing Bridges) sta mettendo a punto una soluzione innovativa per il rinforzo strutturale dei ponti stradali esistenti. La tecnica proposta sfrutta le proprietà dei materiali compositi FRP (fibre-reinforced polymers) per minimizzare l’uso di risorse e i tempi di cantiere. La tecnica sviluppata consente di ripristinare la capacità portante di un impalcato da ponte, diminuita nel tempo per fenomeni di degrado e danneggiamento, o di incrementarla ai livelli richiesti da nuove normative; inoltre, la tecnica consente di allargare la sede stradale, ove necessario per adeguarla a mutate esigenze di traffico. Il sistema SUREBridge si applica a ponti di calcestruzzo armato o a struttura mista acciaio-calcestruzzo. A differenza di interventi di tipo tradizionale, che prevedono la demolizione totale o parziale della soletta di calcestruzzo, la soluzione prospettata da SUREBridge prevede di mantenere la soletta esistente, rinforzandola mediante l’applicazione di pannelli sandwich rinforzati con fibre di vetro. Inoltre, la tecnica comprende l’uso di laminati di fibra di carbonio pretesi per rinforzare le travi longitudinali del ponte

The European project SUREBridge - A case study in Tuscany

The European project SUREBridge (Sustainable Refurbishment of Existing Bridges) is developing a new concept for the refurbishment of road bridges. The proposed technique takes advantage of the peculiarities of fibre-reinforced materials to perform upgrading, repair, and strengthening in an effective and efficient way in terms of resource consumption, waste production, construction time, and traffic disruption. The technique applies to bridges with reinforced concrete slab and longitudinal girders made of either reinforced concrete or steel. Longitudinal girders are strengthened by bonding carbon fibre-reinforced polymer (CFRP) laminates to their bottom surfaces. Higher structural performances are achieved by pre-stressing the CFRP laminates. The existing concrete slab is not demolished, with savings in both construction time and waste production. Instead, tailor-made glass fibre-reinforced polymer (GFRP) panels are connected to the deck to increase its overall bending strength. Furthermore, GFRP panels enable the widening of the road section, if necessary to upgrade the bridge to increased traffic demand. This paper presents the application of the SUREBridge technique to a real bridge located in San Miniato, Tuscany, Italy. The designed intervention includes both the widening of the road section and the structural strengthening of the deck to comply with current traffic load