Experimental Investigation of Longitudinal Closure Joint Using 90\ub0 Hooked Bars in Accelerated Bridge Construction

2019Final ReportABC-UTC Project: Development of Manual for Enhanced Service Life of ABC ProjectsPDFTech ReportABC-UTC-2013-C1-FIU05-FinalDTRT13-G-UTC41 (2013)Bridge constructionLongitudinal jointsExperimentsBridge designClosure JointDevelopment LengthAccelerated Bridge ConstructionUnited StatesFlorida International University. Department of Civil and Environmental EngineeringJahromi, Azadeh JaberiAzizinamini, AtorodFlorida International University. Department of Civil and Environmental EngineeringAccelerated Bridge Construction University Transportation Center (ABC-UTC)United States. Department of Transportation. University Transportation Centers (UTC) ProgramUniversity Transportation Centers Program (U.S.)US Transportation CollectionSeveral alternatives are used to connect prefabricated bridge deck elements using closure joints but cost and construction considerations limit their use in field applications. In this research, a new detail is proposed to efficiently connect these elements in closure joints. The new detail consists of 90\ub0 hooked reinforcement and normal strength concrete in the closure joint. An experimental program was conducted to develop design criteria for the suggested detail. Test results have shown that the longitudinal connection detailed with hooked bars can be a viable alternative for the design and construction of closure joints. This report provides a summary of experimental tests on the new closure joint detail and tentative design recommendations.82