Development of a short-span fiber-reinforced composite bridge for emergency response and military applications

A continued desire for increased mobility in the aftermath of natural disasters, or on the battlefield, has lead to the need for improved light-weight bridging solutions. Currently within the United States military there is a need for a light weight bridging system for crossing short-span gaps up to 4 m (13.1 ft) in length. The bridge must be capable of supporting up to Military Load Class 30 (MLC 30) vehicles including palletized load system (PLS) truck vehicles under extreme temperatures and loading conditions. This paper describes the design and analysis of a carbon/epoxy composite sandwich bridging system to satisfy the United States Army's short-span gap crossing needs. The paper also includes a description of the fabrication of the bridge treadways, full scale proof testing of the treadways, and field testing using a fully loaded PLS truck. The study shows the bridging system to satisfy the design requirements and to have sufficient strength to support MLC 30 and PLS truck vehicles.