Uncontrolled concrete bridge parapet cracking.

Details

• Creators:
  Bazzo, Jeffrey ; Delatte, Norbert ; Kalabon, Amy
• Corporate Creators:
  Cleveland State University. Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering
• Corporate Contributors:
  United States. Federal Highway Administration
• Subject/TRT Terms:
  Admixtures Bridge Decks Concrete Bridges Cracking Durability Joints (Engineering) Nondestructive Tests Parapets
• Publication/ Report Number:
  FHWA/OH-2012/15
• Resource Type:
  Tech Report
• Geographical Coverage:
  Ohio
• Corporate Publisher:
  Ohio. Dept. of Transportation. Office of Research and Development
• Abstract:
  The Ohio Department of Transportation has recently identified the problem of wide-spread premature cracking of concrete bridge
  
  parapets throughout its District 12 region (Northeast Ohio). Many of the bridge decks that contain these prematurely cracked
  
  parapets are of relatively recent construction. In severe cases, replacement of the parapet may be required before replacement of
  
  the bridge deck itself. This incurs a sunk cost upon the bridge owner, as the parapets will again be replaced during the regularly
  
  scheduled replacement of the bridge deck. In a recent instance, the replacement of a cracked parapet (without replacing the deck)
  
  cost District 12 approximately $140,000. In addition, parapet walls are a crucial safety feature of roadway bridge construction,
  
  and severe deterioration of these barriers could introduce a significant safety hazard.
  
  Premature cracking of concrete bridge parapets is a potentially complex problem, with a number of possible causes. The
  
  objective of this study was to determine the reasons for uncontrolled concrete bridge parapet cracking, and to provide
  
  recommendations to ODOT to prevent such cracking in the future. Potential factors examined in this study included: properties
  
  of the concrete mixtures used, construction methods, joint details, composite structural action, and durability of the concrete and
  
  reinforcement. Identifying the cause of, and avoiding this problem in the future, has several benefits, including: a potential cost
  
  savings for the district, increasing the safety of these structures in future construction, and increasing the overall understanding of
  
  the durability of these structures.
  
  
• Format:
  PDF
• Funding:
  SJN 134602
• Collection(s):
  US Transportation Collection
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha256:fb34e91a51382415431fabaa69c55572a8fad70d61d0ecbfb56c1e984dea5462
• Download URL:
  https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/26792/dot_26792_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 18.26 MB ]