Effect of Elastic Modulus of Carbon Fiber-Reinforced Polymer Strands on the Behavior of Posttensioned Segmental Bridges
Publication: Journal of Composites for Construction
Volume 20, Issue 5
Abstract
Segmental bridges are widely used for accelerated construction and lower costs and environmental impact. The major concern with such bridges is in the corrosion protection of posttensioning steel strands. Noncorrosive carbon fiber strands can serve as viable alternatives to help reduce maintenance costs. A novel carbon fiber strand was tested for posttensioning of a scaled model of the Long Key segmental box girder bridge, and its performance was compared with prior test data for steel strands and another type of carbon fiber. The most important distinction between the two types of carbon fibers is their elastic moduli, which are 77 and 93% of that of steel strands. Numerical simulation was also conducted and the effect of different elastic moduli of the tendons on the structural performance was investigated with a parametric study. While the study confirms the feasibility of both types of carbon fiber strands for segmental bridge applications and their similar serviceability behavior, strands with higher elastic modulus are shown to improve structural performance and minimize displacements after joint opening.
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Acknowledgments
This study was sponsored by the Florida Department of Transportation under the supervision of Mr. William Potter as Project Manager. The support of Titan America for providing the concrete, C&C Concrete Pumping for providing the concrete pumping, Mo Steel Fabricator & Erector for the steel frame fabrication, Mr. Emilio R. Vega, the President and CEO of Structural Prestressed Industries, Inc. for providing steel strands and steel chucks, and Composite Rigging Southern Spars for providing the EC6 strands are gratefully acknowledged. All experiments were conducted at the Titan America Structures and Construction Testing Laboratory of Florida International University. The views and findings reported here are those of the writers alone, and not necessarily the views of sponsoring agencies.
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Information & Authors
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Published In
Journal of Composites for Construction
Volume 20 • Issue 5 • October 2016
Copyright
© 2016 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Aug 4, 2015
Accepted: Dec 16, 2015
Published online: Mar 14, 2016
Discussion open until: Aug 14, 2016
Published in print: Oct 1, 2016
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