Structural behavior of bridge deck systems

An improved stay-in-place (SIP) precast prestressed concrete panel system is presented. This system eliminates the major drawbacks of conventional stay-in-place (SIP) precast panels and still maintains their structural and economical efficiencies. The proposed precast panel covers the entire width of a bridge. Therefore, it eliminates the necessity of forming for the overhangs and results in reduction of the time and labor required to install a larger number of individual panels between girder lines. The panel has a full-length gap at the girder lines to maximize the space needed to accommodate the shear connectors of the supporting girders. The precast panel is continuous over the girder with an innovative reinforcement system. Shear keys and reinforced pockets are used in the direction of traffic to provide continuity between panels. The proposed panel can be crowned to follow the cross slope profile of the bridge and skewed to match the skew of the bridge. All materials used in the production of the panel are non-proprietary and readily available. This makes this system cost competitive with that of conventional SIP precast deck system. Details of the system, including design procedure, construction steps, experimental verification, cost analysis and construction time lines, are presented in this dissertation