Abstract
Concrete is an economical construction material and for that reason it is widely used in buildings and infrastructures. The use of deicing salts, expansion joint failure, and freeze–thaw cycles have led to concrete bridge girders experiencing corrosion of steel reinforcement and becoming unsafe for driving. The goal of this research is to assess the effectiveness of current and possible repair techniques for the end region of damaged prestressed concrete girders. To do this, three American Association of State Highway and Transportation prestressed concrete girders were tested to failure, repaired, and retested. Three different repair materials were tested including carbon fiber, glass fiber, and surface mounted rods. Each different repair material was also tested with and without injected epoxy. Comparisons were then made to determine if injecting epoxy had a positive effect on stiffness and strength recovery as well as which repair type regained the largest percentage of original strength.
Highlights
The national transit system plays a large role in economy and society
The objective of the research is to investigate the feasibility of methods to repair end damage or strengthen against end damage in American Association of State Highway and Transportation (AASHTO) prestressed concrete bridge girders
Note that all the tested prestressed concrete AASHTO girders had the same dimensions and materials and were tested under the same conditions except for the repair method; the test results provide a direct comparison between the different post-damage repair methods
Summary
The national transit system plays a large role in economy and society. More than 60 % of the total bridge inventory in the United States are made of concrete and is reinforced concrete (U.S Department of Transportation 2004). Over the past 40 years the rate of deterioration of concrete has increased due to increased use of deicing salts. Deterioration of concrete structures over time is normal and expected, the rate at which this has occurred for highway bridges since the 1960s, when officials began applying deicing salts in the winter, has been abnormally advanced and has posed significant challenges, both economically and technically. The deterioration is a consequence of the aggressive nature of chloride ions. This has led to a direct annual cost of 5.7–9.7 billion dollars (Koch et al 2002). An investigation conducted by the Michigan Department of Transportation indicated that for prestressed concrete I-beams, repair ranges from 35 to 69 % the cost of the superstructure replacement (Needham 2000)
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