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Etiketler
In November 2010, the world's longest bridge made of textile-reinforced concrete was opened in Albstadt-Lautlingen. The new pedestrian and cyclist bridge was built in response to the increasing safety deficiencies of the old reinforced concrete bridge, which had become in need of repair after only around 30 years. In close cooperation with the city of Albstadt, Groz Beckert (this was before solidian GmbH was founded as corporate start-up of Groz-Beckert) and the RWTH Aachen, an innovative solution was developed: the use of textile-reinforced concrete, which, thanks to its non-corrosive properties, allows a minimal concrete cover of only 1.5 cm, made it possible to realize an exceptionally slim and light construction. The bridge consisting of six precast elements with a total span of approx. 97 m and a superstructure height of only about 43.5 cm, impressively demonstrates how modern materials and precise precast construction can sustainably improve the durability and aesthetics of structures.
Technical data
- Total length: approx. 97 m
- Superstructure height: approx. 43.5 cm
- Segmentation: 6 prefabricated parts (maximum span approx. 17.2 m)
- Slenderness ratio: approx. 1:35
- Minimal concrete cover: 1.5 cm
- Concrete quality: High-quality fine-grained concrete (strength class approx. C50/60), specially adapted to high frost and abrasion resistance
- Reinforcement: Alkali-resistant glass fiber (AR glass), pre-treated with epoxy resin to activate full tensile strength
- Prestressing: Integration of conventional monostrands to increase load capacity and reduce dead weight
- Additional features: Integrated LED lighting system and attractive, filigree design
- Service life: Planned service life of approx. 80–90 years
Challenges
Despite the numerous advantages, a number of challenges also arose during the planning and construction:
🟠Approval: Since textile concrete is still a relatively new material, there was no comprehensive normative regulation at the time of planning. The approval was therefore granted on an individual basis (ZiE), which required a great deal of coordination. Today, it is possible to plan and build bridges without a special approval in accordance with solidians national technical approval Z-1.6-308 and DAfStb guideline "Betonbauteile mit nicht-metallischer Bewehrung".
🟠Concrete quality requirements: Over time, slight freeze-thaw damage has appeared on the road surface, as well as small, longitudinal cracks outside the railings. However, these do not affect the load-bearing capacity and can be remedied by a conventional surface protection system. The damaged areas, which cover only about 2-3 square meters, were caused by challenges in the manufacturing process of the precast elements during surface-near concrete compaction.
🟠Maintenance work: As reported in current press releases, regular inspections (e.g. according to DIN 1076) and planned maintenance work (replacement of expansion joints, cosmetic repairs) are necessary to ensure that the excellent overall condition is also maintained in the long term. This is because the project was one of the first that where built with textile reinforced concrete. With now over 10 years of experience there is no maintanance work required for future projects.
The textile-reinforced concrete bridge in Albstadt Lautlingen is a pioneering pilot project that shows how modern material technologies can be applied in bridge construction. The innovative combination of textile-reinforced fine-grained concrete and prestressing not only enables an impressive, slender construction and an extended service life up to 100 years, but also provides valuable empirical data for future projects. Despite some challenges, the structure is in very good condition after more than 10 years of regular maintenance and inspection, thus underlining the great potential of this technology for the future.
