Rapid Prestressed Concrete Retrofit with Prestressed Mechanically-Fastened Fiber-Reinforced Polymer: Field Performance and Observation for a Deteriorated Prestressed Concrete Bridge

Abstract

This paper presents repairs to rural bridges in North Carolina that deteriorated as a result variously of aging, overweight traffic, and exposure to salts and sulfates. The prestressed concrete C-channel superstructures exhibited prestressing strand loss and displayed significant concrete spalling, with one structure having to be closed to traffic after a routine inspection. Analysis conducted using the American Association of State Highway and Transportations Officials (AASHTO) bridge load rating criteria concluded that repair techniques which strengthen deteriorated flexural elements without also restoring lost prestressing forces are insufficient to maintain load ratings in C-channel structures with heavily damaged prestressing tendons. A prestressed mechanically-fastened fiber-reinforced polymer (MF-FRP) retrofit solution was developed and successfully installed on three structures by the authors and North Carolina Department of Transportation maintenance crews. The most extensive of these three repairs is presented here in detail. The field applications and associated analysis show the temporary MF-FRP repair system is capable of restoring lost prestressing forces, allowing original inventory and operating ratings to remain in place until a permanent superstructure replacement can be scheduled. The most heavily repaired bridge remains in service after 23 months, its performance demonstrated by long-term monitoring data. As currently implemented, the MF-FRP repair is a viable temporary solution for maintaining traffic on a degraded structure while a replacement structure is designed, programmed, and implemented. Efforts to expand the MF-FRP repair into a longer-term solution are underway.