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https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/27432/critical-issues-in-transportation-for-2024-and-beyond

Repair and Strengthening of Bridge Girders Using Ultra-High-Performance Concrete (UHPC)

Ultra-high-performance concrete (UHPC) is a new class of concrete that has mechanical and durability properties that far exceed those of conventional concrete (CC). The use of UHPC in bridge construction resulted in significant improvements in the structural capacity, durability, and life-cycle cost of bridge components/connections, which have drawn substantial interest in the bridge community at both federal and state levels. Recently, Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) Everyday Counts (EDC-6) program “UHPC for Bridge Preservation and Repair” emphasized the repair/preservation applications of UHPC including re-decking/overlay, repair of deteriorated steel girder ends/joints, and jacketing of damaged/deficient components. These repairs are expected to save taxpayers the high agency and user costs associated with complete replacements and/or major rehabilitation and follow-up repairs. The two main limitations of UHPC that hinder its wide-spread use are: 1) the high cost of prebagged materials, their shipping/storage, and equipment/labor associated with batching and mixing operations; 2) the lack of guidelines on the design and construction of UHPC especially for cast-in-place (CIP) applications. Therefore, Nebraska Department of Transportation (NDOT) have sponsored two research projects to address these limitations. The first project is SPR-P1(18) M072) “Feasibility Study of Development of Ultra-High Performance Concrete (UHPC) for Highway Bridge Applications in Nebraska”. The outcome of this project was a non-proprietary UHPC mix using local materials that has a material unit cost of approximately $740/CY. The second project is SG05(22) “Production of Cast-in-Place UHPC for Bridge Applications” which aims to provide technical support and training for contractors and ready-mix producers for the production and quality control of CIP UHPC, which is still in progress. On the other hand, the research team at the University of Nebraska – Lincoln (UNL) has investigated the feasibility of using UHPC as a promising repair material due to its superior workability, durability, and strength in both tension and compression. Table 1 lists a summary of the preliminary literature review conducted by UNL on the cases where UHPC has been implemented for repair and preservation of bridge components in North America. In addition, the research team conducted a preliminary experimental investigation on using UHPC for the shear and flexure repair/strengthening of small-scale reinforced concrete beams. The results of this investigation were very promising and indicated that UHPC can be also used for strengthening bridge girders in the future.

    Language

    • English

    Project

    • Status: Active
    • Funding: $80,007.00
    • Sponsor Organizations:

      Nebraska Department of Transportation

      1500 Nebraska 2
      Lincoln, NE  United States  68502
    • Project Managers:

      Halsey, Lieska

    • Principal Investigators:

      Morcous, George

    • Start Date: 20220701
    • Expected Completion Date: 20250531
    • Actual Completion Date: 0

    Subject/Index Terms

    Filing Info

    • Accession Number: 01849003
    • Record Type: Research project
    • Source Agency: Nebraska Department of Transportation
    • Files: RIP, STATEDOT
    • Created Date: Jun 21 2022 12:26PM