Influcence of Reiforcement on the Behavior of ECC Link Slabs in Bridge Deck Systems

Abstract

AbstractIt is evident that the deterioration of traditional mechanical expansion joints in simply supported spans is one of the major factors affecting the durability of bridge structures. In the previous study by the writers, a flexible and ductile fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) reinforced engineered cementitious composite (ECC) link slab was proposed, which can be used to address the problems of deterioration of expansion joints by eliminating those joints in bridge deck systems. To extend the understanding of the structural behavior of FRP reinforced ECC link slabs in bridge decks, a series of ECC link slabs in full-scale bridge decks were constructed and tested under monotonic cyclic loadings. The experimental variables were reinforcing materials and FRP reinforcement percentage, which aims to study the influence of reinforcement on the behavior of link slabs. The performance of link slab was discussed and presented based on the load-deformation response with particular emphasis on the load and crack development. The test results revealed that the stiffness of reinforcing materials had a strong effect on the behavior of ECC link slabs and the combination of ECC and FRP bars resulted in more flexible and ductile link slabs.