Ultra-High Performance Concrete (UHPC) is a new class of concrete characterized by no coarse aggregate, steel fiber reinforcement, low w/c, low permeability, compressive strength exceeding 29,000 psi (200 MPa), tensile strength ranging from 1,200 to 2,500 psi (8 to 17 MPa), and very high toughness. These properties make prestressed precast UHPC bridge girders a very attractive replacement material for steel bridge girders, particularly when site demands require a comparable beam depth to steel and a 100+ year life span is desired.
In order to efficiently utilize UHPC in bridge construction, it is necessary to create new design recommendations for its use. The interface between precast UHPC girder and cast-in-place concrete decks must be characterized in order to safely use composite design methods with this new material.
Due to the lack of reinforcing bars, all shear forces in UHPC girders have to be carried by the concrete and steel fibers. Current U.S. codes do not consider fiber reinforcement in calculating shear capacity. Fiber contribution must be accurately accounted for in shear equations in order to use UHPC.
Casting of UHPC may cause fibers to orient in the direction of casting. If fibers are preferentially oriented, physical properties of the concrete may also become anisotropic, which must be considered in design.
The current research provides new understanding of shear and shear friction phenomena in UHPC including:
*Current AASHTO codes provide a non-conservative estimate of interface shear performance of smooth UHPC interfaces with and without interface steel.
*Fluted interfaces can be created by impressing formliners into the surface of plastic UHPC. AASHTO and ACI codes for roughened interfaces are conservative for design of fluted UHPC interfaces.
*A new equation for the calculation of shear capacity of UHPC girders is presented which takes into account the contribution of steel fiber reinforcement.
*Fibers are shown to preferentially align in the direction of casting, which significantly affects compressive behavior of the UHPC.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:GATECH/oai:smartech.gatech.edu:1853/34745 |
| Date | 06 July 2010 |
| Creators | Crane, Charles Kennan |
| Publisher | Georgia Institute of Technology |
| Source Sets | Georgia Tech Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Archive |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Dissertation |
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