Project Title:
PIs:
Institution:
Cost:
Development of a Lightweight Steel Bridge Deck System Suitable for Rapid Construction
Bill Wright, Tommy Cousins, Carin Roberts-Wollmann, and Mike Stallings
Virginia Tech and Auburn University
$151,300
Background Statement
This project will develop a steel sandwich panel bridge deck system suitable for rapid deck replacement and rapid
construction of new bridges. The concept utilizes prefabricated modular panels that can be easily transported and
erected using modest capacity lifting equipment. The basic panels consist of a top and bottom steel plate separated
by rectangular HSS steel tubes as core elements. This results in a non-proprietary system involving standard offthe-shelf components that can be fabricated at conventional bridge fabrication facilities. The system utilizes the
newly developed hybrid laser arc welding (HLAW) technology to produce "stake" welds to connect the plates to the
HSS core elements.
It is estimated that the steel deck panel system can be installed and made ready for traffic in approximately
one week. The system weight is about half that for a conventional concrete deck allowing increased live load
capacity for bridge rehabilitation projects. An added benefit is that the panels provide lateral bracing to the beams
as they are placed eliminating the need for cross frames between the beams. Early projections indicate significant
project cost savings are possible due to the substantial reduction in construction time. The system is suitable for
mass production in a factory-type environment using robotic welding equipment potentially resulting in large
savings.
Objectives & Work Description
The objective of this project is to prepare the steel sandwich panel bridge deck system for implementation.
Preliminary results indicate that the system has sufficient strength and can be designed for infinite fatigue life under
truck loads. However, several barriers remain to implementation. The tasks itemized below are meant to address the
most significant of these barriers:
1)
2)
3)
Perform an optimization study to determine the best combination of plate thickness and HSS
sections for a typical girder bridge application.
Fabricate and test full scale deck panels in the laboratory. This includes both cyclic tests under
simulated wheel loads and strength overload tests.
Develop and fatigue test the panel-to-panel field connections for rapid construction.
Other barriers to implementation that need to be addressed in future research are a girder to deck connection that
will result in composite action, a durable wearing surface for application to the top deck surface, and a crash tested
barrier rail system.
Why is your team best for this project?
The project team brings a wealth of experience in the steel bridge arena. All of the PIs listed above have been active
in the bridge research community since the 1980s. Prof. Wright is the inventor of this sandwich panel concept and
has already performed an initial feasibility study including fatigue testing of the proposed HLAW welded
connections used to form the panels. Virginia Tech and Auburn both have extensive experience evaluating the
performance of innovative deck systems and have facilitated numerous installations of deck systems on actual
bridges. In addition, both institutions have mutually compatible structural and fatigue testing capabilities, which
will aid in timely completion of this project. Therefore, this team has the ideal capabilities to fully develop details
of the deck system and insure that it is ready for implementation in actual bridges.