Application of GFRP composites in civil engineering is still not large but already noticeable. Advantages of this material, such as: low volume weight, relatively high stiffness and strength, well fatigue resistance, easiness in shaping, high material damping and high environmental resistance, make it attractive for bridge and in particular foot-bridge designers. It is estimated that nowadays in the world there are realized hundreds...

The paper presents proposals for the use of glass fiber reinforced polymer composites for the construction of engineering objects, known and commonly used in the shipbuilding industry. An example of a pedestrian footbridge was used in this case, which, despite the considerable thickness of the structural material, was made using infusion technology in one production cycle. The designed and produced footbridge span is durable, dynamically...

In the following paper some aspects of numerical analysis and designing stages of a footbridge made of composite materials are elucidated. Because of the used materials the design process in this case is not ordinary and requires the development of concepts, material selections, identification of material properties, numerical simulations, strength calculations, serviceability and durability analyses. This contribution presents...

The microstructures, water absorption as well as blistering was studied for bi- and tri- axial glass fibre vinyl ester and polyester -matrix laminates coated with gel coat layer and uncoated. The effect of manufacturing technique on water sorption characteristics was considered. It was found that water sorption characteristics of GFRP depend on manufacturing methods. The least water intake was found for specimens having perfect...

The paper presents the scope of load tests carried out on an innovative shell composite footbridge. The tested footbridge was manufactured in one production cycle and has no components made from materials other than GFRP laminates and PET foam. The load tests, performed on a 14-m long structure, were the final stage of a research program in the Fobridge project carried out in cooperation with: Gdańsk University of Technology (leader),...