Strongwell Corporation has introduced its GRIDFORM™ Design Guide to assist bridge engineers in determining if GRIDFORM™ is a better alternative for reinforced concrete bridge decks. With the help of the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Engineering, the GRIDFORM™ Design Guide has been developed to demonstrate how GRIDFORM™ can be used as an alternative to steel rebar as the internal reinforcement system for concrete bridge decks. Engineers can enter the bridge’s specific load requirements and properties and the guide will provide design results for a GRIDFORM™ reinforced bridge deck.

Strongwell’s GRIDFORM™ is a prefabricated fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) double-layer grating grid system with an FRP plate bonded to the bottom grating layer as an integral stay-in-place (SIP) form. Degradation of the typical steel reinforcement in concrete bridges is caused by corrosion due to deicing salts and harsh environments. 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.

The amount of labor required to create formwork and tie in rebar associated with typical steel reinforced concrete decks is eliminated with GRIDFORM™. GRIDFORM™ comes in large prefabricated panels that can be lifted and set with a single pick of a crane, providing significant reduction in construction time of the bridge deck.

Click here to access the GRIDFORM™ Design Guide.