High-Early Strength Concrete with Polypropylene Fibers as Cost-Effective Alternative for Field-Cast Connections of Precast Elements in Accelerated Bridge Construction
Publication: Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering
Volume 31, Issue 11
Abstract
Accelerated bridge construction (ABC) technologies are being adopted by state departments of transportation. ABC requires that bridge precast concrete components be effectively connected to one another in the field. Currently there is a trend of using ultra-high performance concrete (UHPC) to connect precast bridge deck panels or girders in 15-cm (6-in.)-wide closure pours between the precast elements. As an alternative, the Idaho Transportation Department (ITD) is proposing to place high-early strength (HES) concrete with polypropylene fibers in 25-cm (10-in.) closure pours, with standard reinforcing bars at the top and headed bars at the bottom. The advantages of this alternative material are the reduction in costs and construction time. An experimental research project was carried out to determine the effectiveness of the alternative material and connection detail. The experimental work consisted of standard test specimens and specimens with headed bars. Among the six closure pour concrete mixes considered, the mix containing HES concrete, () of fiber, and shrinkage-reducing admixture performed the best. It had the largest compressive strength, the largest tensile strength, the lowest shrinkage, and the largest bond strength. Headed bar tensile strength tests with the optimum mix resulted in bar stress of 67% of the steel specified yield strength. Flexural testing of beams composed of two precast segments with the optimum mix in the 25-cm (10-in.) closure resulted in ultimate moment capacity of about ().
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
Data Availability Statement
All the data and models generated or used during the study are available in the thesis by Casanova (2018).
Acknowledgments
The authors would like to thank the members of the ITD Technical Advisory Committee, Matt Farrar, P.E.; Dan Gorley, P.E.; Leonard Ruminski, P.E.; Ned Parish; and Ed Miltner, for their support and valuable input. Dr. Saiidi of the University of Nevada, Reno, served as the peer reviewer for this project; his input is very much appreciated. The contents of this article, funded by the ITD and the Federal Highway Administration, reflect the views of the authors, who are responsible for the facts and accuracy of the data presented herein. The contents do not necessarily reflect the official views or policies of the Idaho Transportation Department or the Federal Highway Administration. This article does not constitute a standard, specification, or regulation.
References
AASHTO. 2017. LRFD bridge design specifications. Washington, DC: AASHTO.
Ahmed, S., I. A. Bukhari, J. I. Siddiqui, and S. A. Qureshi. 2006. “A study on properties of polypropylene fiber reinforced concrete.” In Proc., 31st Conf. on Our World in Concrete and Structures. Singapore: CI-premier Pte.
ASTM. 1999. Standard test method for bond strength of latex systems used with concrete by slant shear (withdrawn 2008). ASTM C1042-99. West Conshohocken, PA: ASTM.
ASTM. 2013. Standard specification for latex agents for bonding fresh to hardened concrete. ASTM C1059. West Conshohocken, PA: ASTM.
ASTM. 2017. Standard test method for length change of hardened hydraulic-cement mortar and concrete. ASTM C157. West Conshohocken, PA: ASTM.
ASTM. 2018. Standard test method for flexural strength of concrete (using simple beam with third-point loading). ASTM C78. West Conshohocken, PA: ASTM.
Banthia, N., and R. Gupta. 2006. “Influence of polypropylene fiber geometry on plastic shrinkage cracking in concrete.” Cem. Concr. Res. 36 (7): 1263–1267. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cemconres.2006.01.010.
Bentz, D., I. la Varga, J. Muñoz, R. Spragg, B. Graybeal, D. Hussey, D. Jacobson, S. Jones, and J. LaManna. 2018. “Interface of substrate moisture state and roughness on interface microstructure and bond strength: Slant shear vs. pull-off testing.” Cem. Concr. Compos. 87 (Mar): 63–72. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cemconcomp.2017.12.005.
Casanova, M. 2018. “Mechanical properties of high early strength concrete with polypropylene fibers for field-cast connections of bridge precast elements.” M.S. thesis, Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Idaho State Univ.
De la Varga, I., Z. B. Haber, and B. Graybeal. 2016. “Performance of grouted connections for prefabricated bridge elements—Part I: Material-level investigation on shrinkage and bond.” In Proc., 2016 PCI National Bridge Conf. Nashville, TN: PCI.
De la Varga, I., Z. B. Haber, and B. Graybeal. 2017. Bond of field-cast grouts to precast concrete elements. FHWA-HRT-16-081. McLean, VA: Federal Highway Administration.
Ebrahimpour, A., M. Mashal, M. Casanova, U. Rashique, C. Clauson, and A. Shokrgozar. 2018. Effectiveness of high-early strength concrete class 50AF with polypropylene fibers as a cost-effective alternative for field-cast connections of precast elements in accelerated bridge construction. Washington, DC: Federal Highway Administration.
Graybeal, B. 2014. Design and construction of field-cast UHPC connections. FHWA-HRT-14-084. McLean, VA: Federal Highway Administration.
Hanif, A., Y. Cheng, Z. Lu, and Z. Li. 2018. “Mechanical behavior of thin-laminated cementitious composites incorporating cenosphere fillers.” ACI Mater. J. 115 (1): 117–127. https://doi.org/10.14359/51701007.
Hoomes, L. C., H. C. Ozyildrim, and M. C. Brown. 2017. Evaluation of high-performace fiber-reinforced concrete for bridge deck connections, closure pours, and joints. FHWA/VTRC 17-R15. Charlottesville, VA: Virginia Transportation Research Council.
ITD (Idaho Transportation Department). 2012. Standard specifications for highway construction. Boise, ID: ITD.
Julio, E. S., F. B. Branco, and V. D. Silva. 2004. “Concrete-to-concrete bond strength. Influence of the roughness of the substrate surface.” Constr. Build. Mater. 18 (9): 675–681. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2004.04.023.
Julio, E. S., F. B. Branco, and V. D. Silva. 2005. “Concrete-to-concrete bond strength: Influence of an epoxy-based bonding agent on a roughened substrate surface.” Mag. Concr. Res. 57 (8): 463–468. https://doi.org/10.1680/macr.2005.57.8.463.
Kakooei, S., H. M. Akil, M. Jamshidi, and J. Rouhi. 2012. “The effects of polypropylene fibers on the properties of reinforced concrete structures.” Constr. Build. Mater. 27 (1): 73–77. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2011.08.015.
Kim, Y., A. Hanif, M. Usman, M. J. Munir, S. M. S. Kazmi, and S. Kim. 2018. “Slag waste incorporation in high early strength concrete as cement replacement: Environmental impact and influence on hydration; durability attributes.” J. Cleaner Prod. 172 (Jan): 3056–3065. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2017.11.105.
Lu, C., B. Dong, J. Pan, Q. Shan, A. Hanif, and W. Yin. 2018. “An investigation on the behavior of a new connection for precast structures under reverse cyclic loading.” Eng. Struct. 169 (Aug): 131–140. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.engstruct.2018.05.041.
Madhavi, T. C., L. S. Raju, and D. Mathur. 2014. “Polypropylene fiber reinforced concrete—A review.” Int. J. Emerging Technol. Adv. Eng. 4 (4): 114–119.
Santos, P. M. D., and E. N. B. S. Julio. 2011. “Factors affecting bond between new and old concrete.” ACI Mater. J. 108 (4): 449–456.
Serdar, M., A. Baričević, M. J. Rukavina, M. Pezer, D. Bjegović, and N. Štirmer. 2015. “Shrinkage behaviour of fibre reinforced concrete with recycled tyre polymer fibres.” Int. J. Polym. Sci. 2015: 9. https://doi.org/10.1155/2015/145918.
Tayeh, B. A., B. H. Abu Bakar, and M. A. Megat Johari. 2013. “Characterization of the interfacial bond between old concrete substrate and ultra high performance fiber concrete repair composite.” Mater. Struct. 46 (5): 743–753. https://doi.org/10.1617/s11527-012-9931-1.
Yerramala, A., C. Ramachandurdu, and V. Bhaskar Desai. 2013. “Flexural strength of metakaolin ferrocement.” Compos. Part B: Eng. 55 (Dec): 176–183. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compositesb.2013.06.029.
Yu, K., Y. Wang, J. Yu, and S. Xu. 2017. “A strain-hardening cementitious composites with the tensile capacity up to 8%.” Constr. Build. Mater. 137 (Apr): 410–419. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2017.01.060.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Copyright
©2019 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Jan 4, 2019
Accepted: Jun 4, 2019
Published online: Aug 26, 2019
Published in print: Nov 1, 2019
Discussion open until: Jan 26, 2020
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.