Pragmatic Precast/Prestressed Girder Acceptance Criteria

Details

• Creators:
  Stewart, Lauren ; Kahn, Lawrence ; Meyer, Karl F. ; Loreto, Giovanni ; Contreras, Ana K.
• Corporate Creators:
  Georgia Institute of Technology. Office of Sponsored Programs
• Corporate Contributors:
  Georgia. Department of Transportation. Office of Performance-Based Management & Research ; United States. Department of Transportation. Federal Highway Administration
• Subject/TRT Terms:
  Anchorages Durability Flanges Girders Nonconformance Precast Concrete Prestressed Concrete Procedures Reinforced Concrete Repairing Stakeholders Testing

  More +
• Publication/ Report Number:
  FHWA-GA-25-2104
• Resource Type:
  Tech Report
• Geographical Coverage:
  United States ; Georgia
• Edition:
  Final Report: March 2022 – July 2025
• Corporate Publisher:
  Georgia. Department of Transportation. Office of Performance-Based Management & Research
• Abstract:
  This research addresses the lack of specific, quantitative guidelines within the Georgia Department of Transportation’s (GDOT) Standard Operating Procedure 3 (SOP-3) for evaluating nonconforming precast/prestressed concrete girders. SOP-3 currently provides general recommendations but does not offer objective criteria for acceptance, repair, or rejection decisions, leading to inconsistent practices and project delays. To improve decision-making and repair strategies, this study developed and validated a tiered acceptance system tailored to GDOT’s materials and construction practices. The research involved a synthesis of national guidelines, interviews with GDOT personnel and industry stakeholders, and full-scale experimental testing of BT-54 girders with simulated nonconformance issues. Results showed that top flange repairs consistently exceeded original girder strength, and bottom flange repairs were generally effective except in bearing zones, where retensioning methods failed due to poor strand-concrete bonding. Reinforced repair surfaces demonstrated strong adhesion and structural performance, reaching at least 95 percent of nominal moment capacity and 90 percent of nominal shear capacity. Recommendations include simplifying top flange repair procedures, reconsidering the use of epoxy bonding agents, and adopting stainless steel anchorage materials for bottom flange repairs. The study also suggests revisions to SOP-3 to include standardized repair procedures and calls for future research on the long-term durability of repairs under service-like loading conditions.
• Format:
  PDF
• Funding:
  00181720
• Collection(s):
  US Transportation Collection
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:e19b1a78615b2449987bb31c6d31c88674ba19703ee8ac1036e6fac967719e06e9572bf75223925f5cceee0b038b851f9a93d150a324f198326d00678f6669ab
• Download URL:
  https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/90726/dot_90726_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 39.87 MB ]