Strongwell manufactures the largest pultruded profile in the world—the 36” x 18” EXTREN DWB® double web beam!
The super-strong beam is designed to replace steel girders in vehicular bridge decks and other heavy loading applications.
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Strongwell is actively involved in the advancement of FRP technology
for civil infrastructure applications. These efforts include the
research and development of new FRP products as well as involvement
with ASCE, AASHTO, ASTM, FHWA and NIST in the establishment of engineering
and performance standards.
Emerging applications for Strongwell's pultruded FRP products include
pedestrian bridges, AASHTO HS-25 bridge superstructures, decks and
guard rails. The bridge industry's interest in FRP as a replacement
for traditional steel and concrete materials is due to:
- Inability of traditional materials to resist
corrosion
- Rising costs of traditional materials (steel,
wood, concrete) and associated increasing installation labor costs
- Less public inconvenience and improved construction
worker safety due to shorter installation periods
- Significantly lower long term maintenance and replacement
costs
- The useful life extension of existing bridge superstructures
with lightweight FRP bridge decks
A description of existing applications and new products under development
are mentioned in the page below. They include:
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Vehicular Bridges
In 1997, 8" x 6" EXTREN DWB® double-web
beams replaced 10" wide
flange steel beams in the 18 foot span, two-lane bridge.
The bridge was upgraded
from a 10-ton to 20-ton capacity after the rusted, severely
deteriorated steel beams were replaced. Total construction
time for steel beam removal and replacement with the composite
beams and a timber deck was less than five days.
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The bridge utilized Strongwell's FRP hybrid 8" x 6" double-web
beam that has carbon fiber in the flanges to increase the
beam's stiffness to more than six million psi.
The unique
double-web design featuring internal flange stiffeners also
provided a beam with less than 1/2% rotation under three-point
loading in laboratory tests.
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In September 2001, the Virginia Department of Transportation
(VDOT) installed eight 36" x 18" EXTREN
DWB® beams
as a replacement for deteriorated steel beams in a two lane
vehicular bridge in Sugar Grove, Virginia.
This bridge demonstration
project was sponsored by the Innovative Bridge Research and
Construction Program of the Federal Highway Administration.
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Strongwell, Virginia Tech and
the Virginia Transportation Research Council worked together
for two years analyzing and testing the 36" x 18" EXTREN
DWB® beams to ensure these new FRP beams could meet all
the requirements of an AASHTO-HS20 bridge. The new bridge
exceeds VDOT's standard bridge requirements for design safety
and is expected to surpass other VDOT's bridges in terms
of useful service life since the FRP beams are not subject
to environmental corrosion. Engineers from Virginia Tech
installed a data monitoring system on the bridge to collect
performance data for VDOT and FHWA for a period of two years.
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GRIDFORM™ is a prefabricated fiber reinforced polymer (FRP)
double-layer grating, concrete-reinforcing system with integral
stay-in-place (SIP) form for vehicular bridge decks.
The
system consists of FRP plates bonded to the bottom grating
of FRP double-layer grating panels, creating a bidirectional,
lightweight panel for the grid construction of corrosion-free
concrete bridge decks.
The lightweight GRIDFORM™ panel,
which weighs only 4.7 pounds per square foot, is shop-fabricated
in very large units that are limited only by shipping constraints
to approximately 50 ft. by 80 ft.
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Click here to read an article from the August 2006 issue of Composites Manufacturing magazine, which contains an in-depth feature on a recent GRIDFORM™ installation in Greene County, Missouri. |
When the GRIDFORM™ arrives
on site, it is lifted with a single pick of a crane
and placed directly in the bridge girders. The GRIDFORM™
panel is pre-engineered and detailed to enable rapid
attachment to the bridge girders and subsequent concrete
placement and forming. The anticipated lifespan of
a GRIDFORM™ bridge deck is several times that of steel
reinforced concrete bridge decks since FRP provides
a corrosion-free reinforcement system for the concrete.
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Utilizing a FHWA IBRC award, Strongwell, Virginia Tech
and Virginia's Transportation Research Council installed
a 15' 3" wide bridge deck in 1999 at the Troutville,
Virginia highway weigh station on Interstate 81. This
FRP deck, fabricated from standard EXTREN® structural
shapes and plate, experiences the traffic of more than
13,000 fully loaded trucks per day.
Virginia Tech has
installed a data acquisition monitoring system to collect
and report real data to FHWA. The FRP deck panel was
removed in December 2002 to assess its condition and
performance. |
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Two bridges, 3 feet wide by 36 feet long, fabricated with
24" I-beams and 6" x 1/2" angle, replaced
rotting redwood bridges spanning across the dolphin tanks
at this entertainment park.
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Due to proximity to the
salt air from the Gulf of Mexico and to the corrosive
atmosphere of the wastewater clarifiers, two FRP bridges
spanning 45 feet were installed in this wastewater
treatment plant in 1997.
The bridges were fabricated
from 24" I-beams and also included FRP grating
and handrails.
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COMPOSOLITE® is an advanced composites building panel system
is suitable for load bearing structural applications. The modular
construction system consists of a small number of interlocking
fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) structural components produced
by the pultrusion process. The main building panel is a 3" thick
x 24" wide open ribbed panel.
Panels can be connected by
using the 3-way connector, toggle connector and/or hanger. Designed
by Maunsell Engineering of London, England, Strongwell is now
the exclusive worldwide manufacturer of all components and is
responsible for all marketing and sales efforts in North America.
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This footbridge connects the old golf course with the new
golf course. The pedestrian and golf cart bridge was constructed
in the summer of 1990 across the River Tay.
The tower structure,
as well as the bridge superstructure, is made with the COMPOSOLITE® panel system. This cable stayed bridge is 371 feet long
and is the longest composite bridge in the world.
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The Wilcott pedestrian bridge, in Shropshire, England,
was constructed from COMPOSOLITE® panels, 3-way connectors
and toggles.
The bridge, which is 163' long and more
than 7' wide, was built in three units and spliced
to fabricate the total length.
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SAFSTRIP® is a pultruded composite strip that improves
the strength of an existing structural member when mechanically
fastened to the structure. The reinforcing strip has high
bearing and longitudinal properties and is designed to strengthen
the flexural capacity on the tension face of concrete girders,
slabs and decks. Installation on bridges can occur without
any interruption of service.
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SAFSTRIP® is supplied in rolls and may be pre-drilled with holes at the required fastener spacing to receive fasteners. SAFSTRIP® measures 4" wide x 1/8" thick and is shipped in rolls up to 100 ft. long. SAFSTRIP® is designed to be easily field cut by the customer into shorter lengths using standard carpenter tools.
Panels can be connected by
using the 3-way connector, toggle connector and/or hanger. Designed
by Maunsell Engineering of London, England, Strongwell is now
the exclusive worldwide manufacturer of all components and is
responsible for all marketing and sales efforts in North America.
SAFSTRIP® provides
these features:
- Easy to install, no skilled labor necessary
- Minimal surface preparation is needed for installation
- Structure is usable immediately after installation
- Cost effective system for increasing load capacity of bridges
- Will not split or delaminate when drilled
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