Abstract
This study deals with the paramount topic of sustainable and durable composite materials for repair of damaged existing bridge. Reinforced concrete is the most used composite system in structural design but, across several decades, it has shown some fragilities related to chemico-physical resistance. Durability improvement by means of innovative repair systems represent, therefore, a crucial economic parameter allowing a highly significant reduction of maintenance cost. A maintenance scenario is here simulated, considering a repair composite realized with a binary geopolymer binder, obtained by activating two industrial by-products, namely coal fly ash and blast furnace slag, in alkaline environment. Physico-mechanical characterization of geopolymer concrete is also performed, showing the suitability of this innovative repair system. In order to investigate the effectiveness of geopolymer, a 3D finite element model is developed in Sap2000 to represent the complex behavior of a full-scale Italian highway bridge. Numerical simulations are conducted by modeling the geopolymer concrete as a jacketing applied to the damaged piers. Results reveal that the designed repair system could increase shear capacity of bridge piers under seismic conditions, not neglecting the low cost of raw materials and the high durability of geopolymers.
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