Extremely light and slender precast pedestrian-bridge made out of textile-reinforced concrete (TRC)

Abstract

Textile-reinforced concrete (TRC) is an innovative composite material which uses mesh-like textile reinforcements and a fine-grained concrete as basic materials. Unlike steel, textiles are not susceptible to corrosion, thus it is possible to minimize the concrete cover to only a few millimeters. As a result, slender concrete constructions can be built, meeting the needs of modern architecture with both economical and environmental advantages. This paper presents a precast pedestrian bridge made of TRC, which has a total length of 15.5 m and a width of 2.94 m. Worldwide it is the first reinforced bridge, which uses no steel as reinforcement but rather carbon fibers. As a result the thickness of the construction could be minimized and let to reduction of carbon dioxide emissions in the production process, compared to ordinary steel-reinforced bridges. Further advantages are lower maintenance costs and, thus, lower life-time costs. The paper focuses on details of the design, construction and bearing behavior of the bridge.