New corrosion-free concrete bridge barriers reinforced with GFRP composite bars

New concrete bridge barriers, type PL-2 and PL-3(1), totally reinforced with glass FRP composite bars have been developed at the Universite de Sherbrooke. Also, a new detailing for connecting the barrier wall to the deck slab by extending the main reinforcement of the wall through the slab using bent GFRP bars was introduced. Laboratory and field tests have been carried out on full-size concrete barrier prototypes to investigate their behaviour under static and impact loads, respectively. This paper describes the field investigation where pendulum impact tests, using a 3.0-ton pear-shaped iron ball, were carried out. A total of 8 full-scale 10-m long barrier prototypes were constructed and tested in the field. The tests included 4 PL-2 and 4 PL-3 prototypes. For each type of barriers, two prototypes were reinforced with GFRP bars and the other two were reinforced with steel bars. The behaviour of barriers reinforced with GFRP bars under the impact load is compared to their counterparts reinforced with conventional steel in terms of cracks pattern and width. The newly developed concrete barriers have been approved by the Ministry of Transportation of Quebec (MTQ) and currently are being used for construction of new concrete bridge barriers all over Quebec.