Evaluation of a bridge deck with CFRP prestressed panels under fatigue load cycles

mmpPDFResearch PaperReport No. CDOT-DTD-R-2003-11Bridge decksBridge designFiber reinforced concreteColorado. Dept. of TransportationShing, P. BensonBorlin, Kerri AnneMarzahn, GeroUniversity of Colorado (System)United States. Federal Highway AdministrationNTL-HIGHWAY/ROAD TRANSPORTATION-MaterialsNTL-HIGHWAY/ROAD TRANSPORTATION-Bridges and StructuresUS Transportation CollectionThis report summarizes a study conducted under an IBRC (Innovative Bridge Research and Construction) project sponsored by the FHWA. In this project, a bridge deck with CFRP (carbon fiber reinforced polymeric) prestressed panels and cast-in-place topping slab was designed and constructed by the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) at the I-225 and Parker Road interchange southeast of Denver. To evaluate the performance of the CFRP prestressed deck, an experimental study was carried out on a model deck. The main objectives of the study were to evaluate the strength and long-term performance of CFRP prestressed panels in a bridge deck, compare the behavior of bridge decks designed with the empirical and conventional methods of AASHTO, and a new limit-state design approach developed in this project, study the applicability of the AASHTO empirical method to topping slabs in bridge decks that have precast panels as stay-in-place forms, and examine the influence of lap splices between precast panels on deck cracking. To meet the last objective, part of the panels had lap splices and the rest did not. The design of the lap splices followed the normal practice of CDOT. The model bridge deck was constructed and tested under static loads and fatigue load cycles in the Structures Laboratory of the University of Colorado. The deck was 16-ft wide and had a 30-ft long span, representing a 2/3-scale model of a three-girder deck. Results of this study indicate that CFRP bars are a viable alternative to steel tendons for precast panel construction. The portion of the bridge deck that had CFRP prestressed panels demonstrated the same performance as that with steel prestressed panels. The segments of the deck that had the topping slabs designed with the empirical method and the limit-state method exhibited the same performance as that designed with the conventional method, even though the latter required 70% more reinforcement in the topping slab. References, 3 appendices, 134 p