Performance of a fiber reinforced polymer web core skew bridge superstructure. Part II: Failure modes and parametric study

A finite element model, validated using field test data, has been developed to study the structural behavior of a fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) web core skew bridge superstructure. The failure modes are considered in this second part of a two-part paper. The multi-step finite element analysis is performed to study the structural strength failure based on the Tsai-Hill theory. Moreover, the shear transfer capacity and the local buckling behavior of the bridge superstructure are investigated. Using the finite element model, a parametric study is considered to assess the contributions of the individual structural components to the structural behavior. Parameters including the integral parapet, web thickness, and configuration are considered. This parametric study revealed several possible design improvements to this kind of FRP bridge construction.