Behaviour of ultra-high performance concrete as a joint-fill material for precast bridge deck panels subjected to negative bending

• Main Author: Amorim, David Rodrigues Coelho
• Other Authors: Svecova, Dagmar (Civil Engineering)
• Published: 2016
• Subjects: Ultra-high performance concrete; Precast panels; Accelerated bridge construction; fatigue performance
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/1993/31018

This thesis investigates the behaviour of UHPC as a fill material for precast deck panels subjected to negative bending. Two full-scale test specimens were constructed. The transverse joints between the panels, the shear pockets, and the deck haunches were all filled with UHPC. A total of four tests were performed including two static tests to failure and two fatigue tests, one of which was performed to failure. Testing consisted of a loading apparatus acting upwards on the deck soffit in an attempt to impose tensile stresses across the transverse joints, representing the conditions that a transverse joint in the negative moment region of a continuous bridge deck would experience. It was concluded that the transverse UHPC joint performed satisfactorily by transferring bending stresses and shear stresses across the joint from one panel to the adjacent panel. Overall, the test specimens displayed performance levels expected from conventional cast-in-place concrete deck alternatives. === February 2016