Numerical analyses on tension behaviors of ultra-high performance concrete link slab for jointless bridges

Link slab is proposed to eliminate deck joints for multi-span simply supported girder bridge. However, the conventional Reinforced Concrete (RC) link slab tends to produce cracks that cause leakage and deterioration. In order to improve the crack resistance of RC link slab, Ultra-High Performance Concrete (UHPC) link slab is proposed. Based on the test results of UHPC link slab under monotonic tensile loading, the validity and accuracy of the Finite Element Model (FEM) built by ABAQUS was verified. The parametric analyses based on the verified FEM were carried out to study the influence of different parameters on the tension behaviors of UHPC link slab. The results indicate that with an increase in rubber sheet length or reinforcement ratio, the maximum concrete stress at top fiber decreased by 13.8% and 17.9%, respectively. The tension stiffness is mainly influenced by the rubber sheet length and link slab thickness