Innovative pile foundations consisting of concrete-filled circular fibrereinforced polymer (FRP) tubes (CFFT) have increasingly been used for a variety of applications, mainly in marine environments. This paper presents a different application of CFFT in two bridges in the State of Virginia, the Route 40 and Route 351 bridges. Some of the piles in these bridges consisted of CFFT, which were projected above the ground level to function as piers for support of the superstructures of the bridges. The paper presents the results of full-scale field test programs carried out at the two bridge sites, before construction of the bridges, in order to compare the structural and geotechnical performance of the new CFFT composite piles to conventional prestressed concrete piles. Details of the construction and connection between the CFFT composite pile and RC cap beam are also presented. The Route 40 Bridge has been in service since 2000 and to date, no indications of unsatisfactory performance have been reported. The new Route 351 Bridge is expected to be finished and open for traffic in May 2003.

Since its inception in 1995, the ISIS Canada research network has developed design procedures and innovative techniques for the rehabilitation and repair of existing concrete structures using fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) materials. In co-operation with various industrial partners, ISIS Canada has conducted many field application projects, successfully transferring ISIS technology into practice in the field. This paper provides a review of four recent field applications in Western Canada, utilizing externally bonded FRP for the repair and strengthening of bridges. The projects include flexural strengthening of a bridge deck under lateral bending, shear strengthening of I-shaped AASHTO girders for two bridges, and the repair and strengthening of concrete corbels supporting a single girder pedestrian bridge. Some construction costs and the time required to complete each project are presented, as well as practical details specific to each application.

It is becoming preferable, both environmentally and economically to upgrade bridges rather than to demolish and rebuild them. The deterioration of bridges from environmental influences and from traffic loads require rehabilitation and renewal programs to maintain even current service levels on the bridge infrastructure network. There are increased demands for high durability, longer service life, reduced maintenance cost and cost/performance optimization. Advanced Composite Systems have now become a viable method of strengthening existing bridges worldwide. This paper presents the evolution of carbon fiber systems since 1991, including relevant Test Reports for Bridge Engineering as well as their worldwide application.

This paper describes the use of Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer, CFRP, tendons and rods for prestressing concrete highway bridges completed in 1993 and 1997. Due to the lack of design codes, the paper presents briefly the research work undertaken before the final design of the two bridges. The first bridge is a 75 ft. (23.85 m) span skew bridge, which consists of bulb-tee pre-tensioned girders made continuous with posttensioned steel strands. Four girders were pre-tensioned by two types of CFRP. The second bridge is 541 ft. (165 m) long and consists of five simply supported span girders, 110 ft. (33 m) long. Four girders were prestressed by two different types of CFRP using straight and draped tendons. The AASHTO girders were also reinforced with CFRP stirrups. A portion of the deck slab is reinforced by CFRP reinforcement. Design considerations, safety features and construction of each bridge are described briefly. The paper summarizes also the results of monitoring the behavior of each bridge. The experience gained from these two bridges provides valuable information for the development of the design guidelines, currently under consideration by the ACI Committee 440, Fiber Reinforced Polymer.

The use of fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) composites to restore the original capacity of impacted prestressed and reinforced concrete (PC and RC) girders is highly effective. In many instances, FRP strengthening represents the Only practical and costefficient solution to such problems. The ease and rapid installation of the external FRP reinforcement without traffic interruption is often the key parameter for the use of this technology. In this paper, the flexural strengthening of one accidentally-damaged precast PC girder of a bridge over the Gasconade River, Missouri is presented. The impact resulted in the spalling of concrete and severing of two out of 38 prestressing tendons. The location of the damage was near the mid-span of the girder. The design was based on restoring the ultimate flexural capacity of the member. This was accomplished with the installation of properly anchored carbon FRP laminates (3 plies) using manual lay-up.