| Use of FRP composites in construction industry has been growing rapidly. However, currently all composite products are manufactured with one and/or two dimensional fibers and fabrics (1-D or 2-D). A shortcoming of these fabrics are the development of premature cracking and low stiffness and strength through-thickness. Therefore, the motivation of the present work is to fabricate and test composites with 3-D stitched fabrics.;In this study, composites were fabricated using 3-D stitched fabrics with different: (1) fiber architecture; (2) stitch density; (3) stitch material; and (4) manufacturing process. Composites made of 3-D stitched fabrics were found to have enhanced strength and stiffness (about 30%) over 1-D and 2-D fabrics.;The existing FRP bridge deck component (first generation) was modified with respect to weight, fiber architecture and manufacturing process leading to the development of the second generation FRP bridge deck component. In the second generation FRP bridge deck component, the self-weight was reduced by about 11% without sacrificing strength and stiffness. Trail second generation FRP bridge deck module has to be tested under fatigue loads. |
