Modular timber/concrete composite system for short-span bridges

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The proposed research has as its objective to develop a feasible system for short-span simply supported highway bridges that satisfies all applicable design requirements while offering greater economy and speed of construction than currently used systems. The system is based on a structural concept that has glued-laminated (glulam) timber girders as the primary longitudinal structural element. These girders will support a relatively thin deck slab composed of ultra high-performance fibre reinforced concrete (UHPFRC), which will be connected to the girders to establish composite action, which will enable both materials to work together in the most efficient manner to carry load. A given span will be assembled from multiple parallel prefabricated modules, each of which consists of two glulam girders linked by glulam diaphragms (short transverse beams) at regular intervals and by a portion of the deck slab over the entire length of the girders, thus forming an inverted "U". Adjacent modules will be linked by connecting the abutting timber girders and by a longitudinal closure pour of UHPFRC. The primary tasks to be performed on this project consist of (1) optimizing the primary dimensions of the structural system through analytical studies, and (2) validating experimentally critical structural components and the overall system.