Manufacture, design and performance of a modular fiber reinforced plastic bridge

An integral fiber reinforced plastic bridge structural system is described. The design is carefully engineered to incorporate fiber reinforced plastics as the sole structural material. As a result, a number of special features evolved to produce an efficient bridge design. We describe the structural components, highlight the structural performance and some of the novel features incorporated in this design, and compare the performance of our design to other composite bridges. The design appears to have potential as a new approach to the ancient bridge construction problem that utilizes the properties of this class of materials to the fullest. We describe manufacturing procedures that are currently being developed to produce this novel structural system.