Experimental Study on Sandwich Bridge Decks with GFRP Face Sheets and a Foam-Web Core Loaded under Two-Way Bending

In recent years, the sandwich bridge decks with GFRP face sheets and light weight material core have been widely used in the world due to their advantages of low cost, high strength to weight ratios, and corrosion resisting. However, as the bridge decks, most of them are used in foot bridges rather than highway bridges because the ultimate bending strength and initial bending stiffness are relatively low. To address this issue and expand the scope of use, a simple and innovative sandwich bridge deck with GFRP face sheets and a foam-web core, manufactured by vacuum assisted resin infusion process, is developed. An experimental study was carried out to validate the effectiveness of this panel for increasing the ultimate bending strength and initial bending stiffness under two-way bending. The effects of face sheet thickness, foam density, web thickness, and web spacing on displacement ductility and energy dissipation were also investigated. Test results showed that, compared to the normal foam-core sandwich decks, an average approximately 657.1% increase in the ultimate bending strength can be achieved. Furthermore, the bending stiffness, displacement ductility, and energy dissipation can be enhanced by increasing web thickness, web height, and face sheet thickness or decreasing web spacing.