Innovative Precast Concrete Truss Using Adaptive Shape Memory Prestressing System

The ever-growing demand for making transportation infrastructure more durable and sustainable requires serious efforts to reduce carbon emissions associated with the concrete and steel used in transportation infrastructure. Almost half of the CO2 emission in the construction industry is related to steel and cement production. Cement alone is the source of about 8% of the world's CO2 emissions, and concrete is the second most used substance by mass after water. One way to achieve sustainability is by optimizing the materials used in transportation infrastructure. Taking precast concrete (PC) prestressed bridge components as an example, the geometric configurations of PC bridge girders have not significantly changed over the last several decades. Part of this could be attributed to the constraints imposed by the prestressing system and how the prestressing force is applied, which has not changed much over the years. This research will help address this issue by studying the application of an innovative Adaptive Prestressing System (APS) in a geometrically optimized (truss) PC system. The new APS can apply localized prestressing in any direction without mechanical tensioning or special hardware, which is ideal for prestressing short diagonal or vertical members of a PC truss. Additive manufacturing (3D printing) technology advancements make casting concrete trusses more feasible. Reusable, durable 3-D printed molds can be used in precast plants to construct trusses with various complex geometries. This research will investigate the APS technology to overcome the issue of cracking in lightweight PC trusses. APS utilizes shape memory alloys (SMAs); a class of smart metallic material that can remember their original shape by heating after being excessively deformed. APS is based on utilizing the permanent force associated with the shape recovery of the deformed SMAs to prestress members subjected to tension in a truss that are hard to prestress using conventional methods. The research will include experimental testing and numerical simulation of reduced-scale PC truss structures with APS placed in tension members that are hard to prestress using conventional methods.

Language

• English

Project

• Status: Active
• Sponsor Organizations:

  University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign

  Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
  Newmark Civil Engineering Laboratory
  Urbana, IL  United States  61801-2352

  Office of the Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology

  University Transportation Centers Program
  Department of Transportation
  Washington, DC  United States  20590
• Performing Organizations:

  University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign

  Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
  Newmark Civil Engineering Laboratory
  Urbana, IL  United States  61801-2352
• Principal Investigators:

  Andrawes, Bassem

• Start Date: 20230901
• Expected Completion Date: 20240831
• Actual Completion Date: 0
• USDOT Program: University Transportation Centers

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Alloys; Cracking; Precast concrete; Prestressing; Three dimensional printing; Trusses
• Subject Areas: Bridges and other structures; Construction; Highways; Materials;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01893420
• Record Type: Research project
• Source Agency: Transportation Infrastructure Precast Innovation Center
• Files: UTC, RIP
• Created Date: Sep 18 2023 9:56PM