BRIDGE REPAIR/REHABILITATION FEASIBILITY STUDY

ond between separated sections, increase shear capacity, and reduce
further splitting. In building applications, epoxy has been successfully
used in structural repairs to fill splits in truss connections. 2,3,8,9
It has also
been used in conjunction with reinforcing rods to replace severely decayed
portions of existing members. 3
In bridge applications, its use as a grout
has been limited primarily to semistructural or cosmetic repairs involving
surface damage or internal insect damage. For surface repairs, voids or
other defects are filled with epoxy gel (Figure 14-15). For internal repairs
involving splits or insect damage, liquid epoxy must be injected to the
inside of the member to fill the void.
Figure 14-15. - Epoxy gel surface repair of a timber pile (photo courtesy of Osmose Wood
Preserving, Inc.).
Splicing
Splicing repairs involve the addition of splice pieces that are lapped over
the split or deteriorated members and are epoxied in place. In this type of
repair, epoxy is used as an adhesive to bond the splices in place. While
other types of adhesives are available for wood, epoxies are preferable for
field repairs because of their high strength and rapid cure rate. Epoxy
splicing has been used mostly in buildings and is not a common type of
repair in bridge applications at this time. However, one method of splicing
that has been used to a limited degree involves the reconstruction of
glulam. In this method, damaged or decayed laminations are cut from the
14-19