Evaluation and analysis of decked bulb T beam bridges.

Details

• Creators:
  Grace, Nabil F. ; Bebawy, Mena ; Kasabasic, Marc
• Corporate Creators:
  Lawrence Technological University. Dept. of Civil Engineering
• Corporate Contributors:
  Michigan. Dept. of Transportation. Research Administration
• Subject/TRT Terms:
  Evaluation Fiber Reinforced Polymers Flexural Strength Longitudinal Cracking Numerical Analysis Posttensioning Reinforced Concrete Bridges Shear Strength T Beams Ultra High Performance Concrete
• Publication/ Report Number:
  RC-1620
• Resource Type:
  Tech Report
• Geographical Coverage:
  United States
• Corporate Publisher:
  Lawrence Technological University. Dept. of Civil Engineering
• Abstract:
  A new corrosion-free decked bulb T beam bridge system has been developed to overcome some of the problems
  
  associated with the construction of side-by-side box beam bridges such as the lack of inspection space between
  
  beams and the longitudinal deck cracking. The new bridge system is reinforced and prestressed with carbon
  
  fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) materials instead of the conventional steel reinforcement. In addition, the
  
  longitudinal keyways between the top flanges of the beams are grouted using ultra-high performance concrete
  
  (UHPC) instead of conventional non-shrink grout. The top flange of the beams with the UHPC shear key joints
  
  substitutes the need for a cast-in-place deck slab, a technique that saves time and labor at construction site and
  
  ensure the quality control of the product. Through this research project, an experimental investigation and a
  
  numerical analysis were conducted to confirm the superiority of the new system. The experimental investigation
  
  included the flexural and shear testing of five control beams and a complete bridge model as well, while the
  
  numerical analysis was developed, after verification, to evaluate the need for transverse post-tensioning in the
  
  system. Results from the experimental investigation and the numerical study indicated that the flexural and
  
  shear performance of the new bridge system conforms to the theoretical prediction and the UHPC shear key
  
  joints are sufficient to laterally distribute the loads across the bridge width. No signs of longitudinal cracks were
  
  observed over the shear key joints of the bridge model even when loading an exterior beam to twice its load
  
  carrying capacity. In addition, the CFRP reinforcement was proven to be a proper alternative to steel
  
  reinforcement in decked bulb T beams. No premature failure or un-predicable behavior was experienced. The
  
  study also showed that a transverse post-tensioning may not be necessary for the system provided that the shear
  
  key joints are properly constructed using UHPC. Overall, it can be concluded that decked bulb T beam bridge
  
  system with CFRP reinforcement and UHPC shear key joints is an excellent alternative for side-by-side box
  
  beam bridge system that promotes expedited construction, access to inspection, reduced maintenance work, and
  
  an effective approach to eliminate the longitudinal deck cracking problem.
  
  
• Format:
  PDF
• Funding:
  2010-0293
• Collection(s):
  US Transportation Collection
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha256:dbb126e9bc88eb72f60dd5f3014611c3ed74da2b8f7609ea8288e24ba000663a
• Download URL:
  https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/28611/dot_28611_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 18.02 MB ]