JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #66 - July/August 2011 - 14

civil engineering

An innovative bridge made of a single 40-metre-long beam
The first contact with the architect, Madrid Municipality Officers, was established in October 2009. The project was accepted by Madrid Municipality two months later and the final design was approved in March 2010. The resin and reinforcement were then selected and preliminary infusion trials were conducted.
Installation on site

ACCIONA Infraestructuras S.A. (Spain) received a JEC Innovation Award 2011 in the Civil Engineering Category for a CFRP bridge installed in Madrid, Spain. This innovation – developed in partnership with Saertex (Germany), Huntsman Advanced Materials (Switzerland), Glascraft Iberica (Spain), Universidad de Sevilla (Spain) and Universidad Politecnica de Madrid (Spain) – has a large market potential.
the streets could not be blocked for more than 4 hours while installing the beam. With Acciona’s solution, the bridge was mounted on site in less than 2 hours. The slenderness (depth-to-length) ratio of the beam had to be under 1.2/40, along with a cross-sectional thickness under 75 mm, a weight under 26 MT and a depth under 1 400 mm. The composite beam weighed 25 MT with a maximum crosssectional thickness under 50 mm and a 1 200-mm depth. It would have been impossible to produce a concrete or steel beam meeting all these parameters. From an architectural point of view, the beam had to be as sleek as possible. The laminate used for this new bridge had a maximum crosssectional thickness under 75 mm and a very smooth surface.

followed by the manufacturing and bonding of the ribs in October. The beam was installed on the Plaza de Almuñecar, in Madrid, on 16 October 2010. In November, ACCIONA Infraestructuras started designing and producing two additional bridges.

jec composites magazine / No66 July – August 2011

ANURAG BANSAL HEAD-MANUFACTURING & PROCESS ACCIONA INFRAESTRUCTURAS S.A, SPAIN

he use of composites made it possible to design and manufacture a beam meeting stringent specifications.

Many challenges to overcome

Since the bridge was to be installed over a river, it had to be made in a single 40-m-long piece. A concrete or steel beam would have been very heavy, 50 metric tons (MT) as a minimum. Due to the low weight of CFRP, the composite beam was 25 MT only. As the installation site was located in the centre of Madrid,

Development, Manufacturing and Installation

It took only one year to complete the entire project.

The second stage of the infusion Technical solutions and trials took place in April, with benefits the production of a 3 000 x The epoxy resin was infused 3 000 mm, 50-mm-thick part. through 12 MT of carbon fibre. Development, Manufacturing Several conditions had to be met and Installation trials for a to ensure both the complete, model of the final beam Key benefits design were • Design freedom • No joint or assembly as the beam is made during made in a single piece the summer. • Shorter lead time The 44-m• Quick and easy installation long(40-m • No painting required span), 3-m• More aesthetic surface wide and 1.2m-deep beam • Less maintenance (vs. concrete and steel, especially near sea shore) was produced in September, • Excellent corrosion resistance

JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #66 - July/August 2011

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #66 - July/August 2011