Details:

Creators:
Boone, Craig
Corporate Creators:
Washington (State). Dept. of Transportation. Bridge and Structures Office
Subject/TRT Terms:
[+]
Bridges Expansion Joints Failure Analysis Joint Sealers Strip Seal Joints
Publication/ Report Number:
WA-RD 858.1
Resource Type:
Tech Report
Geographical Coverage:
Washington ; United States
Washington ; United States Less -
Corporate Publisher:
Washington (State). Dept. of Transportation. Office of Research and Library Services
Abstract:
This document summarizes an investigation that was performed to identify the cause(s) of premature failures of

strip seal expansion joints that were installed on WSDOT Bridge No. 5/104W. The document also includes recommendations

for assuring proper installation of strip seal expansion joints. The investigation found that these

strip seal joints failed in two ways, (1) the rubber gland fell out of the steel extrusions, and (2) the anchorage of

the steel extrusions to the header concrete had failed. The investigation concluded that the rubber glands had fallen

out of the steel extrusions because the glands were never completely seated in the steel extrusions during installation.

The investigation identified three possible causes of the steel extrusion anchorage failures. Of the

three possible causes, the investigation concludes the most likely cause of the steel extrusion anchorage failures

was due to movement of the anchorages in the fresh header concrete before it gained strength. The movements

were due to the steel extrusion on one side of the joint being constrained to the steel extrusion on the opposite side

of the joint when the header concrete was placed. When the bridge expanded/contracted due to temperature

changes, the extrusions in the fresh concrete moved, creating a “sloppy” connection between the anchorage steel

and header concrete. The recommendations for assuring proper installation of strip seal expansion joints include

educating bridge engineers and construction inspection staff, as well as making improvements to contract plans

and provisions.


Format:
PDF
Collection(s):
US Transportation Collection
Main Document Checksum:
[+]
urn:sha256:fb65d72485af219ee30249ca8448a37e8517eddab500d80bcc4b15c1ad79d3c0
Download URL:
https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/31064/dot_31064_DS1.pdf
File Type:

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