Evaluation of cracking of the US 331 bridge deck.

Details

• Creators:
  Schindler, Anton K. ; Hughes, Mary L. ; Barnes, Robert W. ; Byard, Benjamin E.
• Corporate Creators:
  Auburn University. Highway Research Center
• Corporate Contributors:
  Alabama. Department of Transportation
• Subject/TRT Terms:
  • Bridge decks
  • Cracking of concrete pavements
  • Concrete bridge deck, cracking, thermal effects, cracking
  • tendency, coefficient of thermal expansion
• Publication/ Report Number:
  FHWA/ALDOT 930-645
• Resource Type:
  Tech Report
• Geographical Coverage:
  Alabama
• Corporate Publisher:
  Auburn University. Highway Research Center
• Abstract:
  The focus of this report is a three-span, continuous, skewed bridge that was constructed in the ; summer of 2003 as the northbound roadway bridge on US 331 in Montgomery County, ; Alabama. This bridge deck exhibited extensive transverse and horizontal cracking and was ; replaced in 2005 before being opened to traffic. The primary objective of this study was to ; evaluate the mechanisms that may have contributed to horizontal cracking in this bridge deck. ; The concrete satisfied all standard slump, total air content, and compressive strength ; requirements. Core results revealed adequate in-place compressive and splitting tensile ; strengths. Finite-element analyses were used to rule out excessive skew and differential ; support settlement as causes of the cracking. Horizontal cracking in this deck was most likely ; caused by excessive early-age temperature gradients combined with drying shrinkage ; gradients that produced large shear and normal stresses at the top reinforcement mat location ; in a concrete with a high coefficient of thermal expansion and high modulus of elasticity. The ; effect of supplementary cementing materials, water-cement ratio, and placement temperature ; conditions on the early-age cracking tendency of bridge deck concrete was evaluated by rigid ; cracking frame testing techniques. Use of either fly ash or ground-granulated blast-furnace ; slag was found to significantly reduce thermal stresses at early ages. Coefficient of thermal ; expansion values were determined for concretes made with aggregates found in Alabama.
  More +
• Format:
  PDF
• Funding:
  ALDOT Project 930-645
• Download URL:
  https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/18541/dot_18541_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 4.58 MB]
• Collection(s):
  US Transportation Collection
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha256:26c43970c072fcae843f48475e8744eb21eb642be17fc1f75f5679a38ca4126b