Design and performance of a modular fiber reinforced plastic bridge

An integral fiber reinforced plastic bridge structural system is described. The design is carefully engineered to incorporate fiber reinforced plastic s as the sole structural material. As a result, a number of special feature s evolved to produce an efficient bridge design. We describe the structural components, highlight the structural performance and some of the novel fea tures incorporated in this design, and compare the performance of our desig n to other composite bridges. The design appears to have potential as a new approach to the ancient bridge construction problem that utilizes the prop erties of this class of materials to the fullest. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.