Longitudinal Joints between Deck Bulb Tee Girders Made with Nonproprietary Ultra-High-Performance Concrete
Publication: Journal of Bridge Engineering
Volume 26, Issue 12
Abstract
Highway bridge superstructures may be built using only precast concrete elements, such as deck bulb tees (DBTs). Formerly flange connections between those members have been made with welded steel inserts and grout keys, but these have not held up well under heavy truck traffic. Recently, agencies have started to investigate the use of alternative connections in which bars project laterally from the tee flanges and are connected by a narrow pour strip made from ultra-high-performance concrete (UHPC). They have shown better performance, but are typically made using proprietary UHPC, which is expensive. This paper reports tests and analyses of longitudinal joints between simulated DBTs connected using a nonproprietary UHPC. It includes an analysis of the deck to determine the force demands, material testing information including supplementary characteristics such as bond strength, and tests on full-scale panels simulating the deck portion of the tees. It was found that the strength demand is driven by a prescriptive requirement in the AASHTO LRFD specifications rather than by a specific force demand and that the nonproprietary UHPC was able to provide the required strength using a joint no more than 250-mm wide.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
Acknowledgments
The Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) sponsored the project, and that support is gratefully acknowledged, as is the cooperation with the research team at Washington State University (Profs Qiao and Allena). Several individuals offered indispensable advice during the project, including Bijan Khaleghi (WSDOT), Anthony Mizumori (WSDOT), and Steve Seguirant (Concrete Technology Corporation). The assistance with the test program of Lab Manager Vince Chaijaroen and graduate students Samar Kenkre and Ethan Baker is also acknowledged with gratitude.
Notation
The following symbols are used in this paper:
- a
- constant (days);
- b
- constant (dimensionless);
- c0
- numerical coefficient;
- e
- offset of opposing bars in joint;
- EI
- flexural rigidity;
- f(t)
- dimensionless function of time;
- value of f(t) at 14 days;
- L
- span length;
- t
- time (days);
- w(x)
- load per unit length; and
- x
- distance along span.
References
Aaleti, S., E. Honarvar, S. Sritharan, M. Rouse, and T. J. Wipf. 2014. Structural characterization of UHPC Waffle bridge deck and connections. Rep. No. IHRB Project TR-614, In Trans Project 09-362. Ames, IA: Iowa Highway Research Board, Iowa Dept. of Transportation.
AASHTO. 2014. AASHTO LRFD bridge design specifications. 7th ed. Washington, DC: AASHTO.
ACI (American Concrete Institute). 2008. Guide for modeling and calculating shrinkage and creep in hardened concrete. ACI Committee 209. Rep. No. 209.2R-08. Farmington Hills, MI: ACI.
Anderson, A. R. 1972. Systems concepts for precast prestressed concrete bridge construction, 9–21. Special Rep. No. 132. Washington, DC: Highway Research Board.
Berry, M. 2015. Feasibility of nonproprietary ultra-high performance concrete (UHPC) for use in highway bridges in Montana. Helena, MT: Research, Development, and Technology, Montana Dept. of Transportation.
Ferluga, E., and P. Glassford. 2015. Evaluation of performance based concrete for bridge decks. Olympia, WA: Washington State Dept. of Transportation.
Graybeal, B. 2006. Material property characterization of ultra-high-performance concrete. Rep. No. FHWA-HRT-06-103X. McLean, VA: Federal Highway Administration.
Graybeal, B. 2011. Ultra-high-performance concrete. Rep. No. FHWA-HRT-11-038. McLean, VA: Federal Highway Administration.
Graybeal, B. 2014. Design and construction of field-cast UHPC connections. Rep. No. FHWA HRT 14-084. McLean, VA: Federal Highway Administration.
Graybeal, B. 2017. Bond of field-cast grouts to precast concrete elements. Rep. No. FHWA-HRT-16-081. Washington, DC: FHWA.
Graybeal, B. 2019. Design and construction of field-cast UHPC connections. Rep. No. FHWA HRT 19-011. McLean, VA: Federal Highway Administration.
Graybeal, B., and F. Baby. 2013. “Development of direct tension test method for ultra-high-performance fiber-reinforced concrete.” ACI Mater. J. 110 (2): 177–186.
Haber, Z. B., and B. Graybeal. 2018. “Lap-spliced rebar connections with UHPC closures.” J. Bridge Eng. 23 (6): 04018028. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)BE.1943-5592.0001239.
Haber, Z., B. Graybeal, B. Nakashoji, and A. Fay. 2017. “New, simplified deck-to-girder composite connections using UHPC.” In Proc., 2017 National Accelerated Bridge Construction Conf., 10. Miami, FL: Florida International University.
Johansen, K. W. 1943. Brudlinieteorier. Copenhagen, Denmark: Jul. Gjellerups Forlag. [“Yield Line Theory”. English Translation from Danish original by British Cement Association (formerly the Cement and Concrete Association), Camberley, England].
Lee, J. K., and S. H. Lee. 2015. “Flexural behavior of ultra-high-performance fiber-reinforced concrete moment connection for precast concrete decks.” ACI Struct. J. 112 (4): 451–462.
Mast, R. F. 1989. “Lateral stability of long prestressed concrete beams: Part 1.” PCI J. 34 (1): 34–53. https://doi.org/10.15554/pcij.01011989.34.53.
McLean, D. I., and C. O. Smith. 1997. Noncontact lap splices in bridge column–shaft connections. WSDOT-TRAC Rep. No. WA-RD-417.1. Olympia, WA: Washington State Dept. of Transportation.
NDI (Northern Digital Inc.). n.d. Optical measurement. Waterloo, Ontario, Canada: NDI. Accessed May 10, 2016. https://www.ndigital.com/msci/products/optotrak-certus/.
Peruchini, T. J., J. F. Stanton, and P. M. Calvi. 2017. Investigation of ultra-high-performance concrete for longitudinal joints in deck bulb tee bridge girders. Rep. No 869.2. Olympia, WA: Washington State Dept. of Transportation.
Pincheira, J. A., M. G. Oliva, and F. I. Kusumo-Rahardjo. 1998. “Tests on double-tee flange connectors subjected to monotonic and cyclic loading.” PCI J. 43 (3): 82–96. https://doi.org/10.15554/pcij.05011998.82.96.
Qiao, P., Z. Zhou, and S. Allena. 2017. Developing connections for longitudinal joints between deck bulb tees—Development of UHPC mixes with local materials. Rep. No. 869.1. Olympia, WA: Washington State Dept. of Transportation.
Royce, M. 2014. “Implementing ultra-high performance concrete for accelerated bridge construction in New York.” PCI J. 59 (4): 38–47. https://doi.org/10.15554/pcij.09012014.38.47.
Royce, M. 2016. “Utilization of ultra-high-performance concrete (UHPC) in New York.” In Proc., 1st Int. Interactive Symp. on UHPC. Ames, IA: Iowa State University. https://doi.org/10.21838/uhpc.2016.118.
Russell, B. W. 2019. “Sweep in precast, prestressed concrete bridge girders.” In Aspire, 38–41. Chicago: Precast/Prestressed Concrete Institute, Spring.
Shah, B. N., C. L. Lam, K. M. Sennah, S. Tu, and M. R. Kiannoush. 2006. “Flange-to-flange moment connections for precast concrete deck bulb-tee bridge girders.” PCI J. 51 (6): 86–107. https://doi.org/10.15554/pcij.11012006.86.107.
Wipf, T., A. Abu-Hawash, B. Phares, and D. Bierwagen. 2011. Iowa’s ultra-high-performance concrete implementation. Bridging gaps in structural materials and design. Research News. Ames, IA: Bureau of Research and Technology, Iowa Dept. of Transportation.
WSDOT (Washington State Department of Transportation). 2018. Bridge design manual (LRFD). Document M23-50.18. Olympia, WA: WSDOT.
Yuan, J., and B. Graybeal. 2015. “Bond of reinforcement in ultra-high-performance concrete.” ACI Struct. J. 112 (6): 851–860. https://doi.org/10.14359/51687912.
Yuan, J., B. Graybeal, and K. Zmetra. 2018. Adjacent box beam connections: Performance and optimization. Rep. No. FHWA-HRT-17-093. Maclean, VA: Federal Highway Administration.
Zokaie, T., R. A. Imbsen, and T. A. Osterkamp. 1991. “Distribution of wheel loads on highway bridges.” In Vol. 1 of Proc., 3rd Bridge Engineering Conf., 119–126. Transportation Research Record No. 1290. Washington, DC: National Research Council.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Bridge Engineering
Volume 26 • Issue 12 • December 2021
Copyright
© 2021 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Jul 31, 2020
Accepted: Sep 3, 2021
Published online: Oct 11, 2021
Published in print: Dec 1, 2021
Discussion open until: Mar 11, 2022
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.
Cited by
- Danielle Voytko, Paolo M. Calvi, John Stanton, Shear strength of ultra high-performance concrete, Engineering Structures, 10.1016/j.engstruct.2022.113961, 255, (113961), (2022).