The possibility of designing steel-free reinforced concrete structures offers an interesting approach to overcome deterioration problems associated with the corrosion of steel reinforcement. This research project investigates steel-free precast prestressed concrete bridge deck systems, with the objectives of increasing the service life of new bridge decks and understanding their structural behaviour. The project was initiated after a major repair of the bridge deck systems on the Jacques-Cartier Bridge in Montreal, which was carried out during summer 2001-02. The final solution for the replacement of the bridge deck was the use of precast prestressed concrete decks with conventional steel tendons and reinforcing bars. The bridge decks were rebuilt because the existing steel tendons and reinforcing bars were severely damaged over the years by corrosion. Full-scale concrete bridge panel prototypes reinforced with carbon fibre-reinforced polymer (CFRP) prestressing tendons and glass fibre-reinforced polymers (GFRPs) as stirrups and slab reinforcement were constructed and tested up to failure. The results of these prototypes were compared to those of normal steel reinforced and steel prestressed concrete panel specimens. Each prototype was loaded under three different configurations until cracks first appeared to study the service state. It was then loaded at mid-span until failure to study the ultimate state. The behaviour of the panels was characterized by the mid-span and third point deflections and also by the strains obtained from the gauges fixed on the tendons, concrete, reinforcing bars and stirrups. Based on the testing of four full-scale panels, the thesis presents comparisons on the serviceability, ultimate strength, and failure modes. The experimental results are also compared to the theoretical equations and to the predictions from two finite element programs. The numerical and theoretical results are shown to be in good agreement with the experiments.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:usherbrooke.ca/oai:savoirs.usherbrooke.ca:11143/1298 |
| Date | January 2005 |
| Creators | Tardif, Derek |
| Contributors | [non identifié] |
| Publisher | Université de Sherbrooke |
| Source Sets | Université de Sherbrooke |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Mémoire |
| Rights | © Derek Tardif |
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