Temperature distribution behaviors of GFRP honeycomb hollow section sandwich panels

摘要

The fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) composite panel, with the benefits of light weight, high strength, good corrosion resistance, and long-term durability, has been considered as one of the prosperous alternatives for structural retrofits and replacements. Although with these advantages, a further application of FRPs in bridge engineering may be restricted, and that is partly due to some unsatisfied thermal performance observed in recent studies. In this regard, Kansas Department of Transportation (DOT) conducted a field monitoring program on a bridge with glass FRP (GFRP) honeycomb hollow section sandwich panels. The temperatures of the panel surfaces and ambient air were measured from December 2002 to July 2004. In this paper, the temperature distributing behaviors of the panels are firstly demonstrated and discussed based on the field measurements. Then, a numerical modeling procedure of temperature fields is developed and verified. This model is capable of predicting the temperature distributions with the local environmental conditions and material's thermal properties. Finally, a parametric study is employed to examine the sensitivities of several temperature influencing factors, including the hollow section configurations, environmental conditions, and material properties.