Strengthening of Pre-stressed Concrete Box Girder Bridges Using Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer (CFRP) Materials under Close-in Detonations

The response of a bridge superstructure under blast loading might depend largely on the extent of the local damage experienced due to close-in explosion threats. This paper investigates the local and structural response of box girder bridge decks strengthened using carbon fiber reinforced polymers (CFRP) under close-in detonations. Due to the lack of experimental research on this topic, the study is conducted using the explicit finite element computer program LS-DYNA. The numerical study will be verified using the results of strengthened reinforced concrete slabs under field detonations. The blast load was assumed to be detonated above the bridge deck. The key parameters investigated are the charge size, and the strengthening location on the deck. This paper will present the results of this investigation and provides recommendations for predicting the local damage level based on the CFRP strengthening design under blast threat.