Evaluation and Analysis of Decked Bulb T Beam Bridge

Prestressed beams have been a popular beam of choice for building highway bridges in the Midwest since the early 1960s. Although these beam types are economical and are proven to carry traffic loads well, they are starting to show signs of distress, mostly from corrosion of the steel reinforcement that is caused by moisture contaminated with salt and chlorides. Salt used for deicing roadways causes chlorides to penetrate the beams and cause the steel reinforcement and prestressing strands to corrode. Some states use pre-stressed box beams because of their efficient cross section and small beam depth to span ratio. Today, many of these structures are reaching the end of their service life, mainly because of corrosion of the steel reinforcement. In the harsh environment of the Midwest, where bridges are exposed to many freeze thaw cycles and deicing salts it would be beneficial to have a bridge structure free from corrosion, easy to inspect, and a service life at least double that of current structures. Also, since mobility of the traveling public is a very important consideration when building or rehabilitating bridges, there is a need to develop a beam type that can be built using accelerated bridge construction techniques. The objective of this project is to analyze and evaluate the decked bulb T beam (or decked I beam) as a viable replacement for the side-by-side box-beam bridge. The project description uses the term bulb T beam as a general description of an I beam shape, with a wide top flange that can serve as a deck surface. For this type of beam to be a viable replacement to a box beam, it must have a very robust cross-section designed to have a shallow depth to span ratio, which makes it very different than the standard American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) section used by some states. The use of a bulb T beam cross section would eliminate inherent problems associated with the ability to inspect and repair box-beam type structures. The Bulb T beam cross-section will provide enough space at the section bottom for ease of periodical inspections and maintenance of critical elements, such as beam web and the suffit of the bridge deck slab.

• Record URL:
  http://www.pooledfund.org/Details/Study/483

Language

• English

Project

• Status: Completed
• Funding: $415500
• Contract Numbers:

  TPF-5(254)

• Sponsor Organizations:

  Iowa Department of Transportation

  800 Lincoln Way
  Ames, IA  United States  50010

  Michigan Department of Transportation

  Van Wagoner Building
  425 W. Ottawa Street
  Lansing, MI  United States  48909

  Minnesota Department of Transportation

  Transportation Building
  395 John Ireland Boulevard
  St Paul, MN  United States  55155

  Oregon Department of Transportation

  355 Capitol St. NE
  Salem, OR  United States  97301-3871

  Wisconsin Department of Transportation

  PO Box 7910
  4802 Sheboygan Avenue, Room 104
  Madison, WI  United States  53707-7910
• Project Managers:

  Clover, Andre'

• Performing Organizations:

  Lawrence Technological University

  21000 West Ten Mile Road
  Southfield, MI  United States  48075
• Principal Investigators:

  Grace, Nabil

• Start Date: 20110919
• Expected Completion Date: 0
• Actual Completion Date: 20150430
• Source Data: RiP Project 29835

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Bridge design; Corrosion resistance; Cross sections; Freeze thaw durability; Service life; T beams
• Uncontrolled Terms: Bulb T beams
• Subject Areas: Bridges and other structures; Design; Highways;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01570492
• Record Type: Research project
• Source Agency: Federal Highway Administration
• Contract Numbers: TPF-5(254)
• Files: RIP, USDOT, STATEDOT
• Created Date: Jul 22 2015 1:02AM