Ritz-Based Static Analysis Method for Fiber Reinforced Plastic Rib Core Skew Bridge Superstructure

A Ritz-based static analysis procedure is described for fiber-reinforced plastic, skew bridge superstructure, or deck, with a parallel grid core. This is a simplified analysis method based on a transformed plate formulation and the classical Ritz method. The rib core bridge superstructure, or deck, is idealized as a homogeneous, orthotropic skew plate to which the Ritz method is applied to discretize the resultant, equivalent orthotropic skew plate. Three laminated skew plate examples are presented; the results are compared with finite-element solution to verify the validity of the simplified method. A practical demonstration of a rib core skew bridge superstructure is investigated using the simplified method. The procedure provides a useful analysis tool that can be used in the preliminary design stage without the use of finite-element analysis.