MULTI-HOLLOW COMPOSITE SHELL BRIDGE DECK

COMPOSITE MATERIALS OFFER SEVERAL ADVANTAGES OVER METALS FOR PORTABLE BRIDGING: WEIGHT SAVINGS OF 25% OR MORE, CORROSION AND FATIGUE RESISTANCE. THE DESIGN OF A COMPOSITE STRUCTURE IS COMPLEX: COMPOSITE PROPERTIES ARE HIGHLY ANISOTROPIC, MOISTURE ABSORPTION AND TEMPERATURE CHANGES CAUSE CONSIDERABLE STRAINS AND FIT-UP SENSITIVITY IS HIGH. U.S. COMPOSITES WILL DESIGN A COMPOSITE MULTI-HOLLOW BRIDGE DECK BASED ON NEW MANUFACTURING TECHNIQUES INCLUDING BRAIDING AND WET LAMINATION TO ACHIEVE THE NECESSARY PERFORMANCE AT AN ACCEPTABLE COST.CDS MICROCOMPUTER CODES WILL BE USED TO QUICKLY CONVERGE ON A PRELIMINARY DESIGN, THEN A FINAL DESIGN WILL BE VERIFIED BY FINITE ELEMENT ANALYSES. THE DESIGNERS WILL APPLY THEIR EXPERIENCE FROM LARGE, DYNAMICALLY LOADED COMPOSITE ROTORS TO ENSURE ADEQUACY OF THE ENTIRE STRUCTURE: COMPOISTES, METAL ATTACHMENTS AND COMPOSITE/METAL JOINTS.