Evaluate the Effectiveness of Dowels for Lateral Restraint of Prestressed Concrete Beams

The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) has utilized dowels in bents to provide lateral restraint of prestressed concrete beams. These dowels are often misplaced, which creates various construction issues, while their presence complicates bearing pad replacement. The research team will provide research findings to the TxDOT to make informed decisions on stopping the use of such dowels, the researchers will perform a thorough literature review to: (i) summarize the state-of-art, state-of–the-practice and key findings, and (ii) address questions relating to unintended consequences from removal of these dowels during erection of the girders, construction of the deck, and long-term performance and stability. The researchers will perform an investigation on the state-of-the-practice of all state Department of Transportations (DOTs) throughout the country, focusing on practices from DOTs with similar hazard exposure. The researchers will perform a parametric finite element (FE) study on multiple the TxDOT bridge (and girder) designs to investigate the performance under all major load combinations and limit states (from service to ultimate conditions) over the lifetime of the bridge accounting for Texas-related exposure conditions. The researchers will perform six (6) large-scale tests on girder-to-bent/abutment connections to quantify the contribution of dowels in the performance of the connections.

Language

  • English

Project

  • Status: Active
  • Funding: $452754
  • Contract Numbers:

    0-7203

  • Sponsor Organizations:

    Texas Department of Transportation

    125 E. 11th Street
    Austin, TX  United States  78701-2483
  • Project Managers:

    Dassi, Martin

  • Performing Organizations:

    Texas A&M Transportation Institute

    Texas A&M University System
    3135 TAMU
    College Station, TX  United States  77843-3135
  • Principal Investigators:

    Sideris, Petros

  • Start Date: 20240901
  • Expected Completion Date: 20260831
  • Actual Completion Date: 0

Subject/Index Terms

Filing Info

  • Accession Number: 01932602
  • Record Type: Research project
  • Source Agency: Texas Department of Transportation
  • Contract Numbers: 0-7203
  • Files: RIP, STATEDOT
  • Created Date: Oct 3 2024 9:35AM