Mitigating Cracks in Concrete Members for Durable Bridge Construction

Details

• Creators:
  Ranade, Ravi ; Okumus, Pinar
• Corporate Creators:
  University at Buffalo, Buffalo ; LaBella Associates
• Contributors:
  Picard, John
• Corporate Contributors:
  Rutgers University. Center for Advanced Infrastructure and Transportation ; United States. Department of Transportation. University Transportation Centers (UTC) Program ; United States. Department of Transportation. Office of the Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology ; United States. Department of Transportation. Federal Highway Administration
• Subject/TRT Terms:
  Bridge Construction Cracking Durability Fracture Mechanics Fracture Properties Service Life Steel Steel Fibers Steel Wool Tensile Strength
• Publication/ Report Number:
  CAIT-UTC-REG75
• Resource Type:
  Tech Report
• Geographical Coverage:
  United States
• Edition:
  Final Report: 10/1/2022-3/31/2025
• Corporate Publisher:
  Center for Advanced Infrastructure and Transportation (CAIT) (UTC) ; Rutgers University. Center for Advanced Infrastructure and Transportation
• Abstract:
  As a brittle material with low tensile capacity, concrete is prone to cracking under service-level loads. Typical approaches for improving concrete’s cracking resistance involve either increasing the compressive strength, which also leads to greater brittleness, or adding fibers, which controls crack widths but has little effect on the cracking strength. In this research, the primary objective was to enhance the fracture toughness of concrete by employing steel wool. Unlike conventional steel fibers, steel wool provides micro-scale reinforcement to the concrete matrix, which increases its tensile cracking strength under tension. Optimum volume fractions of steel wool in two different concretes were determined considering its effect on fracture toughness and modulus of rupture. Standard compressive strength tests were performed for flexure, and fracture toughness tests were performed at the material-scale specimens. The findings demonstrated remarkable improvements in flexural strength and fracture toughness when steel wool was incorporated, compared to reference specimens without steel wool.
• Format:
  PDF
• Funding:
  69A3551847102
• Collection(s):
  University Transportation Centers
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:feae0589e2602552c67306ff0a73d621484d6676e84c6874bf7dc15944be9a4c4b2ff7057902ba455f8156adc16b17e5050071676a8cc0a8c20be7ba1166d655
• Download URL:
  https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/87497/dot_87497_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 994.77 KB ]