Iowa Ultra High Performance Concrete Use History and Lessons Learned

Abstract

Iowa Department of Transportation (DOT) has piloted various Ultra High Performance Concrete (UHPC) technologies over the years starting with the first use of UHPC in the United States to construct a UHPC pretensioned prestressed concrete bulb-tee beam in 2006 for a bridge project in Wapello County to a recently awarded contract to construct a UHPC two-course bridge deck in Cass County in 2023. The UHPC two-course deck will consist of a conventional 7 ¾" Portland Cement Concrete (PCC) bridge deck capped with a 1 ¼" UHPC overlay prior to the bridge being opened to traffic. Since the first use of UHPC in Iowa, the Iowa DOT has piloted additional UHPC technologies including:UHPC deck level connections for Accelerated Bridge Construction (ABC); Pretensioned prestressed UHPC piling for bridge deep foundations; UHPC bridge deck overlays for bridge preservation; UHPC post-lateral slide connections for ABC; and UHPC beam end repair.This presentation will give an overview of the history of implementation of unique and notable UHPC projects in Iowa and discuss lessons learned in the execution of these projects.