Design and Comparative Flexural Analysis of Prestressed Bridge Girders Using High Performance and Locally Developed Ultra-high Performance Concretes

Design and Comparative Flexural Analysis of Prestressed Bridge Girders Using High Performance and Locally Developed Ultra-high Performance Concretes
Author: Mark P. Manning
Publisher:
Total Pages: 736
Release: 2015
Genre: High strength concrete
ISBN:

Ultra-high performance concrete (UHPC) is an innovative material that provides exceptional mechanical and durability properties and differs significantly from conventional concretes. Exhibiting high compressive strengths, improved environmental resistance, and increased tensile strengths and post-cracking capacity from fiber reinforcement, UHPC offers substantial advantages to a variety of structural applications by providing smaller, lighter structural members with increased design life and reduced lifecycle maintenance. Even so, widespread implementation of this unique material has been slow, particularly in the US where standardized design procedures have yet to be developed and/or adopted. Recent research at New Mexico State University (NMSU) has led to the development of unique UHPC mixture proportions. Utilizing constituents typical of precast production and primarily local to New Mexico, as well as high strength steel fiber reinforcement, these mixture proportions exhibit the advance characteristics typical of UHPC. Providing an economic alternative to commercially available products, experimental testing is required prior to implementation in local design to validate the properties and behavior of this specific UHPC when applied to structural members. This research focused on the design, production, and flexural testing of full-scale prestressed UHPC girders. Based on replacement designs of a structurally deficient local bridge superstructure, two full-scale prestressed channel girders were designed using Conspan® superstructure design software according to 2012 American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officals (AASHTO) Load Resistance Factor Design (LRFD) Bridge Design Specifications. One specimen was designed using conventional high performance concrete (HPC) typical of current New Mexico bridge design, and the second section optimized for use of the locally developed UHPC presented in this thesis. The full-scale specimens were fabricated at a local precast plant, using previously developed batching and curing procedures which were continued to be evaluated for efficiency and economy. This procedure aided in familiarizing precasters with the production of UHPC and helps to promote further implementation of UHPC in local production and design. The completed specimens were then tested in longitudinal four-point bending and transverse three-point bending to investigate flexural behavior and performance. Through comparative analyses of the full-scale prestressed specimens, evidence of the advanced characteristics and performance of UHPC versus conventional HPC are provided. Additional comparision of measured properties and behavior versus design values and predictions, recommendations are made for the incorporation of UHPC design provisions in AASHTO LRFD Bridge Design Specifications.

Prestress Losses in Pretensioned High-strength Concrete Bridge Girders

Prestress Losses in Pretensioned High-strength Concrete Bridge Girders
Author: Maher K. Tadros
Publisher: Transportation Research Board
Total Pages: 73
Release: 2003
Genre: Technology & Engineering
ISBN: 030908766X

"The HCM includes three printed volumes (Volumes 1-3) that can be purchased from the Transportation Research Board in print and electronic formats. Volume 4 is a free online resource that supports the rest of the manual. It includes: Supplemental chapters 25-38, providing additional details of the methodologies described in the Volume 1-3 chapters, example problems, and other resources; A technical reference library providing access to a significant portion of the research supporting HCM methods; Two applications guides demonstrating how the HCM can be applied to planning-level analysis and a variety of traffic operations applications; Interpretations, updates, and errata for the HCM (as they are developed);A discussion forum allowing HCM users to ask questions and collaborate on HCM-related matters; and Notifications of chapter updates, active discussions, and more via an optional e-mail notification feature."--Publisher.

Design of Precast, Prestressed Bridge Girders Made Continuous

Design of Precast, Prestressed Bridge Girders Made Continuous
Author: R. G. Oesterle
Publisher: Transportation Research Board National Research
Total Pages: 108
Release: 1989
Genre: Technology & Engineering
ISBN:

This report documents and presents results of a study to determine time-dependent behavior and relevant design criteria for simple-span precast, prestressed bridge girders made continuous. A questionnaire was used to determine current practice. Creep and shrinkage tests of steam-cured concrete loaded at an early age were made. Computer simulations were used to investigate the effects of time-dependent material behavior and variation in design parameters on the effective continuity for live load plus impact. The findings suggest that positive moment connections in the diaphragms at the piers are not required and provide no structural advantages. The findings also suggest that effective continuity for live load plus impact can vary from 0 to 100% dependent on the design parameters and timing of construction. Computer analyses were also used to determine an upper limit for the amount of negative moment reinforcement over the supports to insure full moment redistribution and attainment of maximum bridge strength. New computer programs were developed for simplified analysis to determine time-dependent effects and service moments. Recommendations for design procedures were presented and design examples given.

Optimization of Span-to-depth Ratios in High-strength Concrete Girder Bridges

Optimization of Span-to-depth Ratios in High-strength Concrete Girder Bridges
Author: Sandy Shuk-Yan Poon
Publisher:
Total Pages: 290
Release: 2009
Genre:
ISBN: 9780494594490

Span-to-depth ratio is an important bridge design parameter that affects structural behaviour, construction costs and aesthetics. A study of 86 constant-depth girders indicates that conventional ratios have not changed significantly since 1958. These conventional ratios are now questionable, because recently developed high-strength concrete has enhanced mechanical properties that allow for slenderer sections.Based on material consumption, cost, and aesthetics comparisons, the thesis determines optimal ratios of an 8-span highway viaduct constructed with high-strength concrete. Three bridge types are investigated: cast-in-place on falsework box-girder and solid slabs, and precast segmental span-by-span box-girder. Results demonstrate that total construction cost is relatively insensitive to span-to-depth ratio over the following ranges of ratios: 10--35, 30--45, and 15--25 for the three bridge types respectively. This finding leads to greater freedom for aesthetic expressions because, compared to conventional values (i.e. 18--23, 22--39, and 16--19), higher ranges of ratios can now be selected without significant cost premiums.