Center for Integrated Asset Management for Multimodal Transportation Infrastructure Systems (CIAMTIS) (UTC)
Abstract
CIAM-UTC-REG16Although carbon fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP) composite has been extensively used to rehabilitate many deficient bridges, data warranting their long-term performance is lacking. Current durability testing of CFRP composite involves accelerated conditioning as a part of material specification requirements to ensure that they maintain mechanical and physical properties during service life. However, without field data, relating accelerated conditioning test data to real-time outdoor exposure is not reliable. Work conducted at the University of Delaware in the early 1990s resulted in the first full-scale application of externally bonded CFRP on publicly owned bridges in the United States. As such, these bridges offer a unique opportunity to study CFRP durability over a time span of well over two decades. This report provides information on the durability of CFRP composite installed on the Foulk Road concrete bridge in Wilmington, Delaware and Bridge 1-704 in Newark, Delaware. Field evaluation and laboratory testing of CFRP samples collected from several girders were employed to investigate CFRP degradation and bond quality. The results indicate that after more than two decades of service life, the condition of CFRP repairs in the Foulk Road bridge was found to have considerably deteriorated. The condition of CFRP in Bridge 1-704 was found to be functional and performing as expected; however, some evidence of deterioration was noted
