Four different wear surfaces were tested on the ZellComp Decking System at the Florida Department of Transportation lab in Tallahassee. All functioned well. There were no visible cracks following the fatigue testing.
Extensive testing with wear surfaces
ZellComp Decking System – Superior Strength proven through Independent Testing
The ZellComp® Decking System has undergone unparalleled independent testing over the past few years – with extremely positive test results.
The ZellComp Decking System has been tested at over 10 million cycles (4 different fatigue tests totaling over 10 million cycles) of American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) loading and has been subjected to seven “strength to failure loadings” at four major labs (three university labs and one state DOT lab). The test results, as summarized below, have been extremely positive and reflect the superior strength of the system. Extensive testing has been performed on three sizes – the 5, 7, and 9-inch systems, as well as the stay-in-place form application. In addition – a live load test, arranged by the Florida Department of Transportation, took place on the recently installed ZellComp deck in Belle Glade, Florida.
These pictures from the load test show the overloaded trucks that were used during the night-time test. Please see a complete description of this test under News & Industry Links – October 15, 2009
5-inch Deck
The 5-inch ZellComp deck was tested by the Florida DOT lab in Tallahassee, Florida during 2006. This testing was for the recently completed installation (replacing an open steel grid deck that had required significant ongoing maintenance) on a movable bridge in Belle Glade, Florida.
The beams were spaced at 4 feet (on center) for a 2 span test.
The test was done for fatigue and static loading conditions.
The fatigue was performed with dual loading to simulate the largest truck loads possible on the bridge.
The load pads were spaced at 4 feet apart and loaded to 18 kips (one kip equals 1000 pounds of force) per pad (or 36 kips total) for 2 million cycles.
After the fatigue loading, the deck was loaded in a static test up to 90 kips on one load pad in one span before failure.
Florida DOT Lab, 2006 – Test of ZellComp® 5-inch Decking System
This fatigue loading test was repeated at the Florida DOT lab with different boundary conditions for another 2 million cycles, and no failure occurred in the composite deck or the wear surface material until the loads exceeded the truck requirements for greater than a factor of safety of at least 4 in all tests. These are extremely favorable test results, and the ZellComp Decking System was approved by the Florida DOT for installation. A detailed report of test results, prepared by the University of Central Florida, is available upon request.
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7-inch Deck
Purdue University
In advance of a November 2009 installation in Indiana, the 7-inch ZellComp deck was tested in static tests at Purdue University (June – September 2007).
This test was again set up to duplicate the bridge structure.
The bridge required a 2% slope in the middle of the bridge, i.e. a crown.
As shown in the picture, the test at Purdue was set up with the 2% crown and the support beams spaced at 6' 3" on center.
The static test was set up with a dual loading pad system, but for this test the load pads were spaced at 6 feet, which is the standard for a single truck on a bridge.
The ZellComp deck was tested to 150 kips (75 kips per load pad), and there was no failure in the composite deck system or the crown designed in the deck.
The original plan at Purdue was to test to failure, and the professors were surprised when the deck did not fail at these loads.
Purdue did a new set-up to enable it to test the deck to failure. The deck was loaded in a static test up to 180 kips (90 kips per load pad) before failure. These are outstanding results. We are not aware of any composite deck of a similar size taking a higher load before failure.
Purdue University, Summer 2007 – ZellComp® 7-inch Decking System
University of Washington
In late 2007 the 7-inch ZellComp deck was tested in a fatigue and static test at the University of Washington.
The test was set up with the support beams spaced at 5'.
The test was done for fatigue and static loading conditions.
For the fatigue test, the applied load was at 26 kips for 2 million cycles, which is an extreme load. (By comparison, a load of 18 kips was used by the Florida DOT.)
After the fatigue loading, the deck was loaded in a static test. As opposed to the dual loading pad system used at Purdue, at the University of Washington the static test was set up with a single unsymmetrical load, which made it an even more severe test.
The ZellComp deck was tested to 100 kips at one load point, and there was no failure in the composite deck system.
The test results were outstanding. The University of Washington also tested a competitor’s FRP deck, and the ZellComp deck well outperformed the other FRP deck. This test program by the University of Washington is the only one ZellComp is aware of where a truly independent lab performed the same tests (fatigue and static) on two different FRP deck systems.
A more detailed report of these findings is available upon request.
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9-inch Deck
Manufactured prototypes of the 9-inch ZellComp Deck have been tested extensively.
The effective width of the 9 inch test specimens was 18 inches and 2 webs.
The test shown in the picture took place at North Carolina State University and was done in static loading (one load pad) in 3-Point Bending.
The test specimen was supported at 8 feet clear spacing and failed at 100 kips.
North Carolina State University, 2005 – ZellComp® 9-inch Decking System
Testing at Queen’s University, Ontario, Canada
The ZellComp deck is being tested for use as a stay-in-place form for concrete decks. This is an exciting new application for our product. The advantages are that this eliminates the dangerous and wasteful use of wooden formwork; no steel rebar is needed; less labor is required; and the deck offers a much longer life cycle than a reinforced concrete deck.
In the testing to date, the product failed at 120 kips. These are very impressive results, and ZellComp is now marketing this deck application.
Given the extensive independent testing of the ZellComp system and the outstanding results achieved, many transportation officials in other states are now relying on these results without requiring extensive fatigue and static tests to be repeated. ZellComp will work with state DOTs, contractors, and engineering firms to determine if specialized features of a particular project should be tested prior to installation.
Most other composite bridge decks have not been as extensively tested by independent laboratories as the ZellComp system – and for tests that have been performed, details of the tests are often not made public. ZellComp is working with others in the composites industry to encourage uniformity in FRP bridge deck design and testing specifications to accelerate acceptance of high quality FRP bridge decks by the engineering community.
ZellComp’s goal is for all high quality composite decks to be viewed favorably by the highway infrastructure, engineering, and construction communities and for the ZellComp deck to be recognized as the leading innovative structural composite product for a variety of infrastructure applications.
