Field Investigation And Statistical Modeling Of In-service Performance Of Concrete Bridge Decks In Pennsylvania

Field Investigation And Statistical Modeling Of In-service Performance Of Concrete Bridge Decks In Pennsylvania
Author: Amir Manafpour
Publisher:
Total Pages:
Release: 2015
Genre: Concrete bridges
ISBN:

The condition of the nation's aging infrastructure has been of the highest concern in recent decades. FHWA estimates that $20.5 billion will need to be invested annually in order to eliminate the United States' bridge deficient backlog by 2028. Bridge deck deterioration is one of the primary concerns and cost factors for transportation agencies. Pennsylvania has one of the highest percentages of structurally deficient and functionally obsolete bridges in the USA. This thesis is structured in two papers/studies related to the performance of concrete bridge decks in Pennsylvania.The first paper summarizes the results of expert survey and field investigations of early-age bridge deck cracking in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The goal was to use field data to identify factors that contribute to or reduce early-age cracking in concrete bridge decks and to assess the effect of cracks on long-term durability performance of bridge decks. First, a survey of 71 PennDOT personnel was conducted to collect and document their experience with early-age cracking and its relation to long-term deck performance. Next, inspection data from 203 bridge decks were collected and analyzed to evaluate the effect of concrete mixture proportions and properties, construction methods, and rebar type on the propensity to experience early-age deck cracking. The results suggest that limiting the total cementitious materials content (e.g., to 620 pcy) and the maximum compressive strength (e.g., to 5000 psi at 28 days) is advisable to reduce deck cracking. In addition, epoxy-coated rebar showed good corrosion resistance even in cracked concrete.The second paper focuses on evaluating the deterioration behavior of concrete bridge decks over time. Considering the stochastic nature of infrastructure deterioration, studies have found that time-based probabilistic models are the most accurate for performance prediction. In this paper, a semi-Markov time-based model based on Accelerated Failure Time (AFT) Weibull fitted-parameters is developed. For this purpose, approximately 30 years of in-service performance data for over 22,000 bridges in Pennsylvania were utilized. The proposed approach attempts to relate deck deterioration rates to various explanatory variables such as structural specifications and environmental factors. Furthermore, the effect of remediation on bridge deck deterioration and service life are also evaluated and quantified based on in-service performance data.

Cracking in Concrete Bridge Decks

Cracking in Concrete Bridge Decks
Author: Tony R. Schmitt
Publisher:
Total Pages: 174
Release: 1995
Genre: Concrete bridges
ISBN:

The causes of cracking in bridge decks are investigated and procedures are recommended to alleviate the problem. Forty continuous steel girder bridges, thirty-seven composite and three noncomposite bridges are evaluated. Field surveys conducted to document cracking patterns and to determine the crack density of each bridge are described. Information collected from construction documents, field books, and weather data logs is presented and compared to the observed levels of cracking to identify correlations between cracking and the variables studied. Thirty-one variables are considered such as material properties, site conditions, construction procedures, design specifications, age of bridge and traffic volume. Based on the research reported herein, cracking in monolithic bridge decks increases with increasing values of concrete slump, percent volume of water and cement, water content, and compressive strength, and decreasing values of air content (especially below 6.0%). Bridge deck overlays placed with zero slump concrete consistently exhibit high levels of cracking. Cracking in overlays also increases as placement lengths increase. High maximum air temperatures and large changes in air temperature on the day of casting aggravate cracking in monolithic bridge decks. High average air temperatures and large changes in air temperature similarly aggravate cracking in bridge deck overlays. Both monolithic and two layer bridges with fixed-ended girders exhibit increased cracking near the abutments compared to those with pin-ended girders.

Concrete Bridge Deck Performance

Concrete Bridge Deck Performance
Author: H. G. Russell
Publisher: Transportation Research Board
Total Pages: 188
Release: 2004
Genre: Bridges
ISBN: 0309070112

At head of title: National Cooperative Highway Research Program.

Impact of Deck Cracking on Durability

Impact of Deck Cracking on Durability
Author: Fouad Fanous
Publisher:
Total Pages: 132
Release: 2000
Genre: Bridges
ISBN:

Concrete bridge decks subjected to corrosive environment because of the application of de-icing chemical could deteriorate at a rapid rate. In an effort to minimize corrosion of the reinforcement and the corresponding delaminations and spalls, the Iowa Department of Transportation started using epoxy-coated rebars (ECR) in the top mat of reinforcing around 1976 and in both mats 10 years later. The overall objective of this research was to determine the impact of deck cracking on durability and estimate the remaining functional service life of a bridge deck. This was accomplished by conducting a literature review, visually inspecting several bridge decks, collecting and sampling test cores from cracked and uncracked areas of bridge decks, determining the extent to which epoxy-coated rebars deteriorate at the site of cracks, and evaluating the impact of cracking on service life.

Phase 1 Report on the Development of Predictive Model for Bridge Deck Cracking and Strength Development

Phase 1 Report on the Development of Predictive Model for Bridge Deck Cracking and Strength Development
Author:
Publisher:
Total Pages: 64
Release: 2009
Genre: Bridges
ISBN:

Early-age cracking, typically caused by drying shrinkage (and often coupled with autogenous and thermal shrinkage), can have several detrimental effects on long-term behavior and durability. Cracking can also provide ingress of water that can drive chemical reactions, such as alkali-silica reaction (ASR) and sulfate attack. Because of the problems associated with cracking observed in bridge decks, and the impact of early-age cracking on long-term performance and durability, it is imperative that bridge decks be constructed with minimal early-age cracking and that exhibit satisfactory long-term performance and durability. To achieve these goals for bridges in the state of Texas, a research team has been assembled that possesses significant expertise and background in cement chemistry, concrete materials and durability, structural performance, computational mechanics (finite difference/element), bridge deck construction and maintenance, monitoring of in-site behavior of field structures, and the development of test methods and specifications aimed at practical implementation by state highway departments. This proposal describes a laboratory- and field-based research program aimed at developing a bridge deck cracking model that will ultimately be integrated into ConcreteWorks, a suite of software programs developed for TxDOT by this same research team.