Sandwich Deck Panels

Sandwich deck panels are a relatively new bridge deck system that could be used for new bridge construction and bridge rehabilitation projects. A sandwich deck panel typically consists of upper and lower steel plates bonded to a core material that can consists of small I-shapes, pressed corrugated plates, or another type of material. A special case is shown in Figure 20, where a sandwich deck panel consists of steel plates bonded to a rigid polyurethane core.

The sandwich deck panel is analogous to an I-beam subjected to flexure, where the steel plates act as the flanges, and the core acts as the web (25). The entire deck is typically constructed from a series of deck panels, spanning transversely across the width of the bridge. A sandwich deck panel is similar to a conventional orthotropic plate deck, but without the required intermediate stiffeners, as the core serves the same purpose as intermediate stiffeners by providing sufficient support to the steel plates. If the core is continuous, the local buckling effect resulting from discretely spaced stiffeners is eliminated (25). The lack of intermediate stiffeners eliminates fatigue sensitive details that are inherent in orthotropic steel decks. Currently, the use of sandwich deck panel systems is very limited, with few known applications in North America. As such, there are no standards or guidelines available for the design of bridges using these deck systems.

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