Developing an innovative curved-pultruded large-scale GFRP arch beam

An arch glass fiber reinforced polymer (GFRP) I-beam with a 600 mm height was developed based on the latest curved-pultrusion technique to overcome the most critical design issues of large-scale GFRP beams, including excessive deflections and premature buckling failures. To achieve this goal, a review was first conducted regarding the complex buckling behaviors of pultruded GFRP beams, building a theoretical basis for the development of the curved beam. Then, a series of three-point bending tests for beams were conducted at full scale, in which the typical failure modes, load-carrying capacities and deflection and strain data were obtained. Compression flange delamination was found to be the dominant failure mode. The load–strain curves for flange and web plates demonstrated that the proposed beams were exempt from local buckling issues. Additionally, an analytical study and finite element modeling were carried out. Excellent agreement between experimental, analytical and numerical studies was observed. The design approach for conventional straight profiles is readily applicable to curved beams as the difference is limited. In the end, a 20-m-long full-scale GFRP pedestrian bridge was designed, constructed and tested. The great potential of the proposed curved-pultruded GFRP arch beam was successfully demonstrated.