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:
  • T beams
  • Reinforced concrete bridges
  • Longitudinal cracking
  • Fiber reinforced polymers
  • Ultra high performance concrete
  • Flexural strength
  • Shear strength
  • Posttensioning
  • Evaluation
  • Numerical analysis
• 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.
  More +
• Format:
  PDF
• Funding:
  2010-0293
• Download URL:
  https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/28611/dot_28611_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 18.02 MB]
• Collection(s):
  US Transportation Collection
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha256:dbb126e9bc88eb72f60dd5f3014611c3ed74da2b8f7609ea8288e24ba000663a