THE EUROPEAN PROJECT SUREBRIDGE
ANALYSIS OF A CASE STUDY BRIDGE

Paolo S. Valvo(1), Erika Davini(1), Fabio Ricci(2)
(1) Department of Civil and Industrial Engineering, University of Pisa
Largo Lucio Lazzarino, 56122 Pisa, Italy
e-mail: p.valvo@ing.unipi.it

(2) A.I.C.E. Consulting S.r.l.
Via G. Boccaccio, 20, 56017 San Giuliano Terme (Pisa), Italy
e-mail: f.ricci@aiceconsulting.it

Abstract

The European research project SUREBridge (Sustainable Refurbishment of Existing Bridges) is developing a new concept for the structural strengthening of road bridges. According to the proposed technique, glass fibre-reinforced polymer (GFRP) sandwich panels are installed on top of the existing concrete slab and pre-stressed carbon fibre-reinforced polymer (CFRP) laminates are adhesively bonded to the bottom surfaces of the longitudinal girders (www.surebridge.eu). To demonstrate the effectiveness of the developed technique, the preliminary design has been carried out of the widening and strengthening intervention on a real bridge (Figure 1), located in San Miniato (Pisa) and selected as a case study.

Figure 1: The San Miniato bridge

A finite element model of the bridge was created by using the commercial finite element software Straus7® (Figure 2). The outcomes of an in situ experimental campaign were used to define the geometry of the BEAM and PLATE elements, as well as the mechanical properties of the materials, the internal and external constraints. The OFFSET attribute was used to properly place the elements corresponding to the bridge slab and girders. Dynamic modal analyses (Figure 3) were carried out to calibrate the model on the basis of the experimental frequencies values, while linear static analyses (Figure 4) were used to assess the load-carrying capacity of the bridge under the load combinations of the current Italian regulations. Such loads were applied per unit area or unit length for the PLATE and the BEAM elements, respectively. A new finite element model of the bridge widened by the SUREBridge technique (Figure 5, Figure 6, and Figure 7) was then created to evaluate the increased load-carrying capacity of the refurbished structure.

Figure 2: Finite element model of the existing bridge

Figure 4: Linear static analysis of the existing bridge

Figure 6: Finite element model of the widened bridge

Figure 7: Cross section of the finite element model of the widened bridge