High-Performance/High-Strength Lightweight Concrete for Bridge Girders and Decks
Use of high-strength prestressed concrete girders and high-performance bridge decks has become accepted practice by many state highway agencies because of their technical and economic benefits. These girders and decks are generally manufactured with concrete made with natural normal weight aggregates. Use of manufactured lightweight coarse aggregates, such as expanded shale, slate, and clay to produce lightweight concrete offers the benefit of reducing the weight of the superstructure, leading to reductions in the size of girders, substructure, and foundations. These size and weight reductions facilitate shipping, handling, and construction or replacement of bridge elements, and result in economic benefits. Recent advances in high-performance/high-strength lightweight concrete have had limited application in bridge construction because of the lack of design and construction guidelines and concerns about material properties and their impact on performance. Research is needed to address the factors that significantly influence the design, constructability, and performance of high-strength prestressed concrete bridge girders and high-performance bridge decks and recommend changes to the AASHTO LRFD bridge specifications. These modified specifications will provide highway agencies with the information necessary for considering lightweight concrete mixtures that are expected to yield economic benefits. The objectives of this research are to (1) develop guide specifications for the use of lightweight concrete in high-strength prestressed concrete girders and in high-performance bridge decks and (2) recommend changes to the AASHTO LRFD Bridge Design and Construction Specifications relevant to high-strength lightweight concrete girders and high-performance lightweight concrete decks. It will deal with mixtures made with normal weight fine aggregates and manufactured lightweight shale, clay, or slate coarse aggregates to produce concrete with equilibrium density, as determined according to ASTM C 567, of not more than 125 pcf.
Language
- English
Project
- Status: Completed
- Funding: $747880.00
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Contract Numbers:
Project 18-15
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Sponsor Organizations:
Federal Highway Administration
1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
Washington, DC United States 20590American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO)
444 North Capitol Street, NW
Washington, DC United States 20001National Cooperative Highway Research Program
Transportation Research Board
500 Fifth Street, NW
Washington, DC United States 20001 -
Project Managers:
Hanna, Amir
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Performing Organizations:
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg
Virginia Tech Transportation Institute
3500 Transportation Research Plaza
Blacksburg, VA United States 24061 -
Principal Investigators:
Cousins, Thomas
- Start Date: 20070821
- Expected Completion Date: 0
- Actual Completion Date: 20120113
- Source Data: RiP Project 11827
Subject/Index Terms
- TRT Terms: Bridge decks; Bridges; Concrete; Construction; Design; Girders; High performance concrete; High strength concrete; Lightweight concrete; Load and resistance factor design; Research projects; Specifications
- Identifier Terms: National Cooperative Highway Research Program
- Uncontrolled Terms: Structural elements
- Subject Areas: Bridges and other structures; Construction; Design; Highways; I30: Materials;
Filing Info
- Accession Number: 01464871
- Record Type: Research project
- Source Agency: National Cooperative Highway Research Program
- Contract Numbers: Project 18-15
- Files: RiP, USDOT
- Created Date: Jan 3 2013 2:51PM