Articles

Ultra-High-Performance Concrete (UHPC) Bridge Decked I-Beam: Design, Production, and Testing

---

Abstract

The paper presents the development of a new UHPC Decked I-Beam (DIB) superstructure system for bridges in Nebraska and discuss its design, production, and testing. The UHPC DIB was developed to maximum durability, speed of construction, and structural efficiency for medium and long span bridges. Special formwork was designed and manufactured to fabricate the developed system for both pretensioned and post-tensioned bridges and using either ribbed and solid slab top flange options. Two 20 ft long 4.5 ft deep full-scale specimens were manufactured by the two precast bridge producers in Nebraska using the non-proprietary UHPC mix developed using local materials: a) pretensioned specimen with ribbed slab; and b) post-tensioned specimen with solid slab. The solid slab top flange specimen was produced for the purpose of comparing cost-effectiveness and behavior of the two geometries. Several material/structural tests were conducted on the two specimens to evaluate UHPC mechanical properties, shear strength without transverse reinforcement, wheel load transverse distribution in the DIB flanges, and anchorage zone reinforcement of the post-tensioned option. An example of 100 ft simply supported bridge with 10 ft girder spacing was designed using the developed system for demonstration. Test results indicated the adequacy of the developed system capacities when compared to the demand of the example bridge and the predictions of the latest UHPC design specifications/guidelines. Lessons learned from the production of the two specimens are also discussed.

Keywords: accelerated bridge construction, decked i-beam, prestressed uhpc, flexure design, shear design

How to Cite:

Morcous, G. & Tadros, M. K., (2023) “Ultra-High-Performance Concrete (UHPC) Bridge Decked I-Beam: Design, Production, and Testing”, International Interactive Symposium on Ultra-High Performance Concrete 3(1): 8. doi: https://doi.org/10.21838/uhpc.16640

Rights: © 2023 The Author(s). All rights reserved.