United States Department of Transportation
i
Integral Abutment Connection Details for Accelerated Bridge Construction
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2018-10-01
[PDF-6.97 MB]
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Edition:Final Report (June 2017 – September 2018)
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Abstract:During bridge construction, closures have significant impacts on traffic flow for the public. To alleviate this impact, the presence of precast elements is being introduced in the design and construction of bridges, which would increase the efficiency of construction and convert month-long, or even year-long, closures into a matter of weeks, or perhaps even days. This strategy, known as accelerated bridge construction (ABC), is growing in popularity within the bridge community and is gaining traction for research projects to investigate how the construction of bridge elements can be expedited. One such element being investigated is the integral abutment. This structural connection for bridges was introduced to eliminate the need for expansion joints between the substructure and superstructure, where the presence of water and other deteriorating chemicals caused long-term and frequent maintenance issues. The integral abutment alleviates the need for the expansion joint by having the superstructure rigidly connected to the foundation to cause the two elements to act together in response to traffic loads, as well as thermal expansions and contractions. Due to this area needing to be heavily reinforced, congestion issues arise when attempting to apply ABC methods. In addition to the reinforcing congestion, the construction tolerances and weight of the integral abutments cause some problems for ABC projects. These issues were the basis for this project to investigate the use of couplers and ultra-high performance concrete, while applying ABC techniques. The foundation element of focus was the pile cap, and the superstructure element investigated was the integral diaphragm, which consists of the deck and cast-in-place beam. The strength and durability of the connection details were evaluated through full-scale laboratory testing that applied simulated thermal loads and live loads. Strain gauges were used to capture the development and strength of the specimen and connecting materials, and displacement transducers monitored the propagation and magnitude of precast joint openings between the integral diaphragm and pile cap to evaluate the durability of the connection details. The results of these tests were compared to the control specimen tested in Phase I, and also used to compare the revised designs in Phase II to the original designs from Phase I.
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