New bridge systems using FRP composites and concrete: A state-of-the-art review

Substantial progress has been made in the past 25 years in the area of fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) composites as viable structural materials in bridge construction. The technologies developed to date have moved rapidly from their initial stage of concept validation, into full-scale prototype construction and field implementations. They have been used either on their own in bridge applications or being combined with other conventional structural materials such as concrete, to provide economical solutions to many critical bridge problems such as deficiency. This paper presents a state-of-the-art review of these developments on typical bridge components (i.e. decks and girders) as well as bridge systems that have been available from the early 1980s to the beginning of 2006.