Abstract
The Hillman-Composite Beam (HCB®), is an innovative structural member for use in highway and railroad bridges as well as marine facilities. The HCB is essentially a lightweight reinforced concrete beam strengthened and protected by a corrosion-resistant and resilient Fiberglass Reinforced Polymer (FRP) shell.
The beam is comprised of three main components, a concrete arch (compression reinforcement), an FRP bottom flange encapsulating steel strands tying the ends of the arch together (tension reinforcement) and the FRP shell. Galvanized Rebar “shear connectors” are used to make the beam composite with the concrete deck in the same manner as pre-stressed concrete beams.
The HCB has been deployed throughout North America and is currently being sought out by transportation agencies worldwide: projects using the HCB over the last 10 years, several State DOTs, Class 1 Railroads, the US Army Corps of Engineers among others have successfully completed projects using HCB. In all cases, the owner received a low-maintenance, high performance beam with a minimum 100-year service life.
Fact Sheet ID Number
CV02047
Sub-Area
Composite Materials & Technologies
Keywords
beam, composite material, hillman composite beam, hcb, construction, material, bridge, construction technology
DOI
10.5703/1288284316365
Date of this Version
4-25-2017
Recommended Citation
Team, Purdue ECT, "HILLMAN COMPOSITE BEAM (HCB®)" (2017). ECT Fact Sheets. Paper 228.
http://dx.doi.org/10.5703/1288284316365
Fact Sheet Type
Research Breakthrough
Included in
Civil Engineering Commons, Construction Engineering and Management Commons, Engineering Education Commons, Engineering Science and Materials Commons, Environmental Engineering Commons, Geotechnical Engineering Commons, Hydraulic Engineering Commons, Other Civil and Environmental Engineering Commons, Transportation Engineering Commons