Structural testing of DARPA/BIR composite army bridge treadway

摘要

A polymeric-composite mobile army bridge is being developed for DARPA and the US Army that will have greater tactical mobility (rapid deployment/retrievals, carry multiple bridges per launcher, minimum profile depth), as well as weight less and cost less, then existing metallic bridges. In this paper, the results of the first full-scale static test of a composite bridge treadway is presented. The results reveal that: (1) low-cost SCRIMP fabrication process appears to be a viable manufacturing process for the CAB treadway based upon the quality of most of the components, (2) the strains and displacements are extremely low throughout the structure, thus, during Phase II further weight/cost savings are expected, and (3) the failure was characterized by a poor bond during fabrication.