on the costly-effective application of frp sheets to masonry arch railway bridge strengthening

on the costly-effective application of frp sheets to masonry arch railway bridge strengthening

this paper studies the minimum-cost strengthening of masonry arch railway bridges through optimal attachment of fiber-reinforced polymer (frp) sheets together with jacketing by reinforced concrete and shotcrete measures. for this aim, the sahand-goltappeh bridge, as a case study, is studied subjected to ordinary train pass. finally, the strengthening cost is minimized pursuing following goals: i) the bridge's load-carrying-capacity is increased; and, ii) the response values of the bridge are reduced to a certain limit. the strengthening cost is estimated based on iranian prices list for railway construction services. the results show that strengthening costs can be reduced by optimal utilization of frps.