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SAMPE Orange County Meeting

Wednesday, April 19, 2006

Design and Construction of a 12m Composite Pedestrian Bridge

Dr. Geza Nagy, President & CEO
Infrastructure Composites International, Inc.

TOPIC : The disadvantages of conventional materials, including the decreasing availability and rising cost of steel and concrete, coupled with advances in the cost-effective use of composite materials for bridge systems makes all-composite short to medium span bridges economically attractive. This presentation focuses on the design and construction of a 40ft composite pedestrian bridge. The overall project objectives were an aesthetic single-piece all-composite design, excellent structural performance, and a 65-year life span. The bridge was constructed using a sandwich construction method based on a large-cell corrugated core system. The structure was designed for Dutch specifications for pedestrian traffic, including 126 psf load capacity with a maximum deflection of 1.9 in (L/D=250), and a minimum first natural frequency of 3Hz. The design methodology is described, and analysis results, using FEM methods, are presented. The materials used were E-glass for the core, and a hybrid E-glass/Carbon system for the skins, with Polyester and Vinylester resins. The construction steps of the hybrid system are outlined, and the completed bridge is presented.

SPEAKER: Dr. Nagy obtained his Ph.D. applied mechanics at the University of California, San Diego in 1992. His has 20 years experience in the analysis, design, and computational and experimental study of composite structures under static and dynamic load conditions. Since 1983, he held positions at SRI International in Menlo Park where he worked on problems related to explosion-generated stress waves and material behavior under blast loading, at the University of California, San Diego, where he studied the performance of building structures under earthquake loading and served as program manager of a team to design a 450-ft long composite vehicular bridge, and at Vanguard Composites Group in San Diego where he served as a senior composites engineer and program manager. Dr. Nagy is currently President and CEO of Infrastructure Composites International, an early stage company that designs and produces composite structures for the civil infrastructure markets.

Location: The Jagerhaus in Anaheim, 2525 East Ball Road, just west of the 57 Freeway, on the North side of Ball. Turn right at the first driveway. Phone 714-520-9500.

Time: 6:00 pm Social • 7:00 pm Dinner • 8:00 pm Speaker — Member or guest dinner $20.

Student (with student ID) dinner $10. No cost for Program only.

Reservations: : E-mail Darrell Reed, reed@ocmtestlabs.com , call 714-630-3003, x 211 by Tuesday noon, April 18, or fill out our ONLINE FORM.

 

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