Sustainable, maintenance-free and lighter beams for stronger Swedish infrastructure
| Reference number | |
| Coordinator | SWERIM AB - Swerim AB, Kista |
| Funding from Vinnova | SEK 3 788 960 |
| Project duration | July 2019 - June 2022 |
| Status | Completed |
| Venture | The strategic innovation programme SIP LIGHTer |
| Call | Lightweight technology - feasibility studies, and research and innovation projects spring 2019 |
Important results from the project
SUNLIGHT have developed a lighter design for load-carrying bridge beams to reduce the costs for stainless beam systems, and thereby enable low maintenance costs and long product life. Corrugated webs give considerable savings in material and production. Additional weight saving is made possible using high-strength stainless steel in the girders. The combination of stiff and effective corrugated web with stainless steel is new and has not been introduced in bridge applications before. It has large potential to replace traditional solutions in composite (steel-concrete) bridges.
Expected long term effects
The concept with corrugated web beams in stainless steel is new and has large potential to replace traditional solutions in composite (steel-concrete) bridges. The aim of the project was to reach at least 20% (40% was reached) reduction in material and weight through the combination of efficient corrugated web and high-strength stainless steel. The life cycle cost of a bridge built with the proposed concept is reduced by at least 20%. When the planned continuance project is completed, all required design data will be available and design codes can be updated to enable implementation.
Approach and implementation
The work was divided in 5 packages: Concept development, Production and quality assurance, Design and verification, Dissemination and Project management with reporting. The parties had WP-responsibilities in connection to their special competences. The steering group had frequent meetings, often monthly. The Corona pandemic changed the conditions, delays arose, and some tasks were redistributed. The project worked more via web, wherefore some discussions became more difficult. Despite this, the work has gone well and the project is ready on time and with good results.