Structural Behavior of Bridge Deck Slabs Made with GFRP-Reinforced Lightweight Self-Consolidating Concrete
Publication: Journal of Bridge Engineering
Volume 28, Issue 3
Abstract
The use of lightweight self-consolidating concrete (LWSCC) has significantly increased due to enhanced mix designs and its projected lower overall costs than normal-weight concrete. Accelerated bridge construction (ABC) has become a common alternative to conventional construction techniques. The use of LWSCC in ABC will reduce structural loads and expedite transportation and installation of precast bridge elements. Limited research, however, has investigated LWSCC bridge elements reinforced with glass fiber–reinforced polymer (GFRP) bars. This paper reports on the performance of full-scale edge-restrained bridge deck slabs (simulating slab-on-girder bridges) fabricated with LWSCC reinforced with GFRP bars. The test specimens included three edge-restrained slabs and one unrestrained slab for comparison. The test specimens were 3,000 mm long × 2,500 mm wide × 200 mm thick and were tested up to failure under a concentrated load simulating the footprint of a standard CL-625 truck wheel load (87.5 kN) defined in current design codes. The investigated parameters were (1) reinforcement ratio; (2) top reinforcement; and (3) effect of edge-restraining. The cracking behavior, ultimate capacity, deflection, and concrete and reinforcement strains of the specimens were presented and discussed. In addition, the punching-shear capacity of the tested specimens was assessed with the currently recommended design equations. The test results indicate that the overall performance of LWSCC deck slabs reinforced with GFRP bars is similar to such structures made with normal-weight concrete.
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Data Availability Statement
All data, models, and codes generated or used during the study appear in the published article.
Acknowledgments
This research was conducted with funding from the Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Advanced Composite Materials for Civil Structures, the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), the Fonds de la recherche du Québec en nature et technologies (FQR-NT), and the Canadian Foundation for Innovation (CFI), and for the technical help provided by the staff of the structural lab of the Department of Civil Engineering at the University of Sherbrooke. The authors would like to express their special thanks and gratitude to Northeast Solite Corporation for their generosity. Their donation of Solite aggregate was instrumental to the success of the research project.
Notation
The following symbols are used in this paper:
- bo
- perimeter of the critical section calculated at a distance of d/2 from the concentrated load;
- c
- neutral-axis depth of the cracked transformed section; c = kd;
- d
- distance from the extreme compression fiber to the centroid of tension reinforcement;
- dv
- effective shear depth;
- Ef
- modulus of elasticity of FRP bars;
- compressive strength of the concrete;
- fct
- splitting tensile strength;
- k
- ratio of the depth of the neutral axis to the depth of the flexural reinforcement;
- nf
- ratio of the modulus of elasticity of the FRP bars to the modulus of elasticity of the concrete; nf = Ef /Ec;
- Vc
- nominal shear resistance of the concrete;
- wc
- equilibrium density of concrete;
- αs
- factor to consider the location of columns;
- βc
- long side-to-short side ratio of the loading plate;
- λ
- concrete density modification factor;
- ρf
- fiber-reinforced polymer reinforcement ratio; and
- ϕc
- concrete strength reduction factor.
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Bridge Engineering
Volume 28 • Issue 3 • March 2023
Copyright
© 2023 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Mar 2, 2022
Accepted: Nov 12, 2022
Published online: Jan 4, 2023
Published in print: Mar 1, 2023
Discussion open until: Jun 4, 2023
ASCE Technical Topics:
- Bars (structure)
- Bridge decks
- Bridge design
- Bridge engineering
- Bridges
- Bridges (by material)
- Concrete
- Concrete bridges
- Concrete slabs
- Construction engineering
- Construction industry
- Construction management
- Decks
- Design (by type)
- Engineering fundamentals
- Engineering materials (by type)
- Infrastructure construction
- Materials engineering
- Reinforced concrete
- Slabs
- Structural engineering
- Structural members
- Structural systems
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