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The objective of this article was to experimentally evaluate timber–concrete composite beams in two different situations – with and without glass fiber reinforced polymer (GFRP). Four full-scale composite beams (5.4 m in length) were produced, two of which had reinforcement (nominal thickness of 10 mm) and two with no reinforcement. The fiberglass reinforcement was formed from the impregnation of unidirectional fiberglass cloth – effective thickness of 0.5 mm – with epoxy resin. The connection system consisted of steel hooks inclined at 45 degrees, bonded with epoxy adhesive to the holes previously drilled on the wood, whose apparent density at 12% moisture content was 0.79 g/cm 3 . The reinforced timber–concrete composite beams tested had performance efficiency of 79% and average rupture strength of 142.5 kN. Finally, the reinforced timber–concrete composite beams were analytically evaluated using the proposed method in Eurocode5, showing reasonable agreement with the experimental results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This paper focus on the design of a GFRP truss-like structure for dismountable bridges with maximum span of 30m. The bridge structure is composed of a deck supported by prestressed trussed beams which are mounted by assembling GFRP tubular profiles and steel joints with bearing type connections. Experimental tests were carried out on short profiles to determine their compressive strength at the connections and on two 1:2.3 reduced models of the trussed beam structure: a short 1.3m span cantilever beam and a 13.0m span simple supported beam. The main results obtained from the performed experimental tests on short profiles and on the cantilever beam are presented herein. It is shown that a non-linear behaviour can be generated on the trussed cantilever beam by decompression of tubular members and that collapses are induced by buckling of diagonal members. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]