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SUMMARY:Key Research Themes for Cellular FRP (Fibre Reinforced Polymer) Br
 idge Decks
DTSTART:20120510T121500
DTEND:20120510T131500
DTSTAMP:20260924T195657Z
UID:86172fbc566cf7779ec57affc6a427e058538e12d18b8539700fdb15
CATEGORIES:Conferences - Seminars
DESCRIPTION:Dr. Wendel Sebastian\nCarbon and glass FRP (fibre reinforced p
 olymer) materials possess four beneficial properties\, namely high stiffne
 ss-to-weight ratios\, superior strength-to-weight ratios\, corrosion-resis
 tance and ease of manufacture into construction-friendly shapes. Consequen
 tly\, these FRPs are finding increased applications in strengthening exist
 ing structures and in construction of new road bridges. For the latter app
 lication\, cellular bridge decks made of glass FRPs are only 20% the weigh
 ts of reinforced concrete bridge decks. This low weight\, coupled to the m
 odularity and durability mean that GFRP cellular decks can potentially lea
 d to a new class of deck-on-beam road bridges which are much more rapidly 
 constructed (so reducing disruption to traffic flow during assembly) and a
 re of significantly longer service lives than are currently possible. Desp
 ite this strong potential\, cellular FRP deck bridges are not widespread. 
 The presentation by Dr Sebastian will examine some of the key reasons – 
 including observations from the few FRP deck bridges in service – for th
 e slow uptake of this new technology. This will naturally lead on to the n
 ature of the underpinning research needed to develop robust design guidanc
 e which will overcome these limitations. In so doing\, the presentation wi
 ll focus on specific research topics including the structural integrity of
  the deck-to-beam connections\, along with combined environmental and fati
 gue long-term effects on these novel bridge decks. The talk will conclude 
 with a road map for development of FRP bridges over the next 10 years.\n\n
 Short Bio: Dr Wendel Sebastian is senior lecturer in Structural Engineerin
 g at Bristol University in the UK. He gained his BA in Engineering and his
  PhD in Structural Engineering from the University of Cambridge. His resea
 rch entails the uses of nonlinear algebraic analyses\, nonlinear computati
 onal approaches and large-scale tests to elucidate and optimise the load r
 esponses of composite structures comprising various combinations of tradit
 ional (steel\, concrete\, timber) and new (FRP (fibre reinforced polymer)\
 , limecrete) materials. This research now focuses on road bridges made who
 lly or partly of FRPs. He now leads a project\, funded by partners includi
 ng the UK Highways Agency\, to study the fatigue behaviour of an 8 m long\
 , 4 m wide FRP deck bridge specimen within a test frame developed ad hoc a
 t the University of Bristol. Dr Sebastian is currently the recipient of a 
 Leverhulme Trust Senior Research Fellowship from the Royal Academy of Engi
 neering.
LOCATION:GC C330 http://plan.epfl.ch/?room=GC%20C3%2030
STATUS:CONFIRMED
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