Design and testing of a concrete safety barrier for use on a temporary FRP composite bridge deck

Fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) composite materials can be used for the fabrication of lightweight, corrosion-resistant honeycomb sandwich panels, representing a convenient and economical alternative to traditional steel RC for bridge decks. Composite panels are particularly advantageous for the construction of temporary bridge structures in terms of both ease of construction and reusability of panels. Although FRP sandwich panels have been considered for the construction of bridge decks, no barrier system has been developed and crash tested for use with this specific type of deck. The objective of this research project was to develop a crashworthy concrete barrier system for use with temporary FRP composite bridge decks. Upon failure of a full-scale crash test with a New Jersey concrete safety shape barrier, an accurate analysis of the potential problems led to a series of design modifications to the barrier as well as to the attachment between the composite deck and both the bridge structure and the barrier. The second design, which used a vertical-faced barrier, was successfully crash tested according to Test-Level 3 impact safety standards set forth in the AASHTO Manual for Assessing Safety Hardware (MASH).