Articles

Service Life Prediction of RC and UHPC Bridge Decks Exposed to Regional Environments

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Abstract

This paper investigates bridge deck deterioration after exposure to regional environmental conditions and traffic loading. The service life of a set of bridge decks containing UHPC or normal strength reinforced concrete were studied through a two-dimensional modeling technique that couples harmful material transport processes and structural deterioration in a time dependent manner. Regional environmental characteristics, such as periodically applying de-icing salts (chloride ions) and realistic local temperature fluctuations were taken into account in the simulations. Furthermore, mechanical damage induced by bridge deck traffic loading was considered in the chloride diffusion modeling approach. The simulation results show that the normal strength reinforced concrete bridge deck had cracks under traffic loading, while the reinforced UHPC bridge deck showed no observable damage at the same loading level. As such, the UHPC bridge deck had significantly slower chloride penetration. Simulated chloride profiles confirmed that the material ingress process was significantly influenced by the variation of source de-icing material concentrations and temperature. The normal strength reinforced concrete bridge deck experienced corrosion induced cracking and delamination under the coupled sustained traffic loading and regional environmental conditions. In contrast, the reinforced UHPC bridge deck was sound and intact even after a much longer exposure time.

Keywords: UHPC, bridge deck, chloride, service life, temperature

How to Cite:

Fan, J., Adams, M. & Bandelt, M., (2023) “Service Life Prediction of RC and UHPC Bridge Decks Exposed to Regional Environments”, International Interactive Symposium on Ultra-High Performance Concrete 3(1): 29. doi: https://doi.org/10.21838/uhpc.16656

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