Since early 2000s, Korea Institute of Construction Technology (KICT) has studied about FRP-concrete composite deck systems and lately developed a new type precast FRP-concrete composite deck (PFC DECK) applicable to a cable-stayed bridge.
This deck consists of a FRP panel with hollow cross section at the bottom and concrete over the FRP panel so as to exploit the advantages of both materials. Concrete takes charge of the compression generally acting at the top of bridge deck while FRP is used instead of tensile member. Moreover, this deck is manufactured in a precast structure easily applicable to the cable-stayed bridge and then only connections between decks and girders are required in field.
This deck is light weight compared to the conventional precast concrete deck for cable-stayed bridges, which makes it possible to reduce the amount of materials consisting of superstructure such as cables and girders. Moreover, it can also reduce the size of substructure and the cost of construction machineries. So the PFC deck can be an economical solution to a cable-stayed bridge.
To verify safety of PFC DECK, we carried out experimental programs to evaluate static and fatigue performances. Based on the result of these tests, we adopted an optimized section and applied the a PFC DECK to a trial bridge for test purpose. From this trial construction, we verified constructability and structural performances of this deck system.