Bridges and other coastal structures in Georgia and throughout the Southeast are deteriorating prematurely due to corrosion. Numerous corrosion
initiated failures have occurred in precast prestressed concrete (PSC) piles and reinforced concrete (RC) pile caps, leading to the costly repair and
replacement of either the entire bridge or the affected members. With the Federal Highway Administration's goal of a 100-year bridge service life
and recent legislative action such as the Bridge Life Extension Act, new emphasis has been placed on the development and implementation of new
corrosion mitigation techniques.
This thesis involves the mechanical testing, and proposed future test program of high-strength stainless steel (HSSS) prestressing strand to be used
in prestressed marine bridge piles. The metallurgy for two types of HSSS strand was selected from a previous study of the corrosion resistance,
mechanical properties, and feasibility of 6 candidate HSSS drawn wire samples. Duplex stainless steel (DSS) grades 2205 and 2304 were selected
for production of 7-wire 1/2" diameter prestressing strand. DSS wire rod was drawn, stranded, and heat-treated using the same production methods
and equipment as used for standard of practice, high carbon prestressing strand. The production process was documented to analyze the problems
facing this production method and suggest improvement and optimization.
After production, the strands were subjected to a series of mechanical tests. Tension testing was performed to provide a stress-strain curve for the
strands and related mechanical properties. Wire samples were also taken at varying points in the drawing process to give more information about
the work hardening of the stainless steels. Stress relaxation testing was performed on both strand and wire samples to assess the overall losses and
to provide comparisons between strand and wire test results as well as drawn wires before and after heat-treatment.
An experimental program for future study was designed to assess the HSSS prestressing strand behavior in precast piles. This testing involves
assessment of pile driving performance, pile flexural and shear behavior, strand transfer and development length, long-term prestressing force
losses, and material durability.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:GATECH/oai:smartech.gatech.edu:1853/47744 |
| Date | 10 January 2013 |
| Creators | Schuetz, Daniel Philip |
| Publisher | Georgia Institute of Technology |
| Source Sets | Georgia Tech Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Archive |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
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