Modular series of FRP pedestrian bridges

Abstract

Bridges are of one of the most important infrastructures in the
Netherlands. Due to Dutch landscape bridges of every size and
types are needed in the rural as well as in the urban environment
and often more than one piece is needed for a specific location.
Due to the significant cost of bridge maintenance engineer’s
attention was drawn on Fibre Reinforced Polymers (FRP). This
material is being used as structural material in steel crosssections
and as architectural material in double curve plates,
produced via a modular production. The primary purpose of
this research is to determine a series of FRP footbridges for the
area of Tanthof Delft in the Netherlands that are manufactured
via one modular mould. In that way, different bridge variations
are produced based on different module combination. Also, the
bridges are constructed all in FRP in order to create a new visual
vocabulary of this material for bridge design by combining the
free-form and structural potentials of this material. Initially the
bridge structure starts as a U-shape bridge with non-structural
railing. Through the use of parametric design the influence of
the different geometrical variables of a bridge are investigated
and the shape involves into a shell-like structure. Furthermore,
municipality data of the demanded bridge’s dimensions are
analysed in order to identify the appropriate module matrix.
Then, based this the modular mould of the Light Resign
Transfer Moulding manufacturing technique is designed. The
project managed to combine the research scopes and full-fill
the set aim, but this combination also limited the potential
of each scope separately. Due to the small dimensions of
the bridges and the need for repetitions the final product is
double curved but not as “fluid” as other examples of roof or
column examples. Also, the different width and lengths of the
bridges provide a complex module matrix and at the same
time a manufacturing mould of many pieces. Finally, by using
the modularity exclusively for the mould design, its potentials
to give solutions on connectivity limits the projects principle on
monocoque structures.