High-Performance Concrete Designed to Enhance Durability of Bridge Decks: Oklahoma Experience
Publication: Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering
Volume 24, Issue 7
Abstract
Bridges are a vital link to the nation’s mobility and prosperity, and those bridges with inadequacies will need to be repaired or replaced as soon as possible. High-performance concrete (HPC) could be the most economical solution. What typically distinguishes HPC from conventional concrete (CC) is the wide variety of cements, supplementary cementitious materials, aggregates, chemical admixtures, and fibers in use. The purpose of this research project was to demonstrate the use of HPC in bridge decks in Oklahoma. HPC mixtures were designed with an optimum blend of three aggregates. With less voids between aggregate particles, the HPC mixtures contained less cement paste, approximately 24% by volume. Examined more than one year after construction, crack densities were less on HPC bridge decks than CC bridge decks. HPC mixtures with fly ash exhibited the best potential durability with crack densities less than . The addition of fibers did not have an effect on crack density.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
Acknowledgments
The authors wish to acknowledge the support of the Federal Highway Administration through the Innovative Bridge Research and Construction Program. The authors greatly appreciate the help and guidance they received from friends at the Oklahoma Department of Transportation, University of Oklahoma, and Dolese Brothers Company, as well as the companies who contributed supplies.
References
ASTM International. (2009). Concrete and aggregates, 4.02.
Babaei, K., and Fouladgar, A. M. (1997). “Solutions to concrete bridge deck cracking.” Concr. Int.CNCIEH, 19(7), 34–37.
Brown, M. D., Smith, C. A., Sellers, J. G., Folliard, K. J., and Breen, J. E. (2007). “Use of alternative materials to reduce shrinkage cracking in bridge decks.” ACI Mater. J.AMAJEF, 104(6), 629–637.
Cope, B. L., and Ramey, G. E. (2001). “Reducing drying shrinkage of bridge deck concrete.” Concr. Int.CNCIEH, 23(8), 76–82.
Darwin, D., Browning, J., and Lindquist, W. D. (2004). “Control of cracking in bridge decks: Observations from the field.” Cem., Concr., AggregatesCCAGDP, 26(2), 148–154.
Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) (2009). “National and state bridge data.” National Bridge Inventory. 〈www.fhwa.dot.gov〉 (Feb. 26, 2010).
FHWA (2010). “High performance concrete.” Bridge Technology. 〈www.fhwa.dot.gov〉 (Feb. 26, 2010).
Giebler, J. D. (2006). “The use of high performance concrete in Oklahoma bridge decks.” M.S. thesis, Univ. of Oklahoma, Norman, OK.
Healy, R. J., and Lawrie, R. A. (1998). “Bridge cracking: A DOT experience and perspective.” Concr. Int.CNCIEH, 20(9), 37–40.
Lindquist, W. D., Darwin, D., Browning, J., and Miller, G. G. (2006). “Effect of cracking on chloride content in concrete bridge decks.” ACI Mater. J.AMAJEF, 103(6), 467–473.
Oklahoma Dept. of Transportation (2004). “Interviews with employees in bridge division, materials division, and research division.”
Riding, K. A., Poole, J. L., Schindler, A. K., Juenger, M. C. G., and Folliard, K. J. (2009). “Effects of construction time and coarse aggregate on bridge deck cracking.” ACI Mater. J.AMAJEF, 106(5), 448–454.
Salem, R. M., and Burdette, E. G. (2005). “Development of high performance concrete mixture for Tennessee bridge decks.” Final Rep. TNSPR RES 1236, Federal Highway Administration, Washington, DC.
Schemmel, J. J., Ray, J. C., and Kuss, M. L. (2000). Impact of shrinkage reducing admixture on properties and performance of bridge deck concrete, ACI Special Publication, Vol. 189, American Concrete Institute, Farmington Hills, MI.
Shilstone, J. M. Sr. (1990). “Concrete mixture optimization.” Concr. Int.CNCIEH, 12(6), 33–39.
Weiss, W. J., Yang, W., and Shah, S. P. (2000). Factors influencing durability and early age cracking in high strength concrete structures, ACI Special Publication, Vol. 189.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Copyright
© 2012. American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Aug 19, 2010
Accepted: Dec 19, 2011
Published online: Dec 23, 2011
Published in print: Jul 1, 2012
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.