Construction of the bridge in the Northern Ireland

Rockbar has been used to reinforce the concrete deck of the Thompson’s bridge located in Co. Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. RockBar was specified for its excellent durability and corrosion resistance in line with the design brief of a long lasting and sustainable bridge deck construction.

The Thompson’s Bridge Project has been developed to show the effectiveness of the composite rebars Rockbar in respect of durability increase & infrastructure ecological compatibility. The novel project evolves exercise of the “compression effect” for rigidity reduction of bridge decks. The bridge construction includes one span with reinforced concrete dead-end support on piled foundations. The upper part of the structure is build from pre-stressed beams, a deck with slabs reinforced with rods “Rockbar”.

The investigations were provided by The Department of design, architecture & civil construction in the Queen’s University Belfast, Northern Ireland. The deck testing were also carried out at the University. According to the tests bridge decks were inserted with fiber-optic sensors to analyze the armature behavior in concrete.

According to results of the performed investigations the following conclusions have been made:

1. Сomposite armature “Rockbar” has increased operating performances. Due to the arching effect its strength is higher in comparison with the comparible steel reinforced slabs tested before.

2. Strength of the investigated slabs has surpassed values of the Bending Theory of the given standard.

3. Slabs reinforced with composite armature “Rockbar” correspond to all requirements indicated in various normative documents such as Canadian Standard, ACI Guidance (reinforcement value 0.6% acc. to 5 Part).

4. The ultimate failure is expressed with concrete cracks in the central portion of a slab span. Such failure is a better than FRP failure.

5. FRP based reinfrocement is a durable analugue for bridge decks as it distinctes with the arching effect increasing operating parameters & strength. Thus it reduces FRP material’s disadvantages.

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