Analytical and Experimental Assessment of an AASHTO I-girder Type I Prestressed with AFRP Tendons

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2014-12-12

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Abstract

Corrosion induced deterioration is one of the main reason for repair and rehabilitation programs in conventional steel reinforced concrete bridge decks. Of all bridges in the United States, over 50 percent are constructed of conventional reinforced or prestressed concrete (NACE, 2013), where one in three bridges are considered structurally deficient or functionally obsolete due to corrosion of the steel reinforcement. According to NACE International (2013) the annual cost of corrosion-related maintenance for highway bridges in the U.S. is estimated at $13.6 billion.

Over the past couple of decades, fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) bars have been noted by researchers and engineers as a corrosion-resistant alternative for either conventional reinforcing steel or prestressing strands. High strength-to-weight ratio, corrosion resistance, ease in placement of the bars and accelerated implementation due to light weight are the special characteristics that make these bars an appealing alternative. Up to this end, extensive research has been conducted on the structural performance of FRP reinforced concrete beams and slabs; however, less attention has been paid to FRP reinforced concrete bridge girders in composite action with the bridge deck. Accounting for the effect of composite action between the bridge girder and deck can significantly impact the structural performance of the girder including the load and deformation capacities as well as the failure mode. Therefore, separate tests of the FRP concrete beams and slabs may not be sufficient to study the structural behavior and to provide design guidelines for engineers.

This thesis presents the experimental and analytical investigations on structural performance of a full-scale AASHTO I-girder Type I, reinforced and prestressed with aramid fiber reinforced polymer (AFRP) bars, where the bridge girder is composite with the deck. The major objectives of this research were to develop a reliable prestressing anchorage system, examine the constructability of the full-scale specimen, study the load and deformation capacities, determine whether or not the design criteria per AASHTO LRFD were met, and improve the performance of the specimen by adjusting the prestressing layout.

The specimen was constructed at a prestressing plant in San Marcos, Texas and tested at the High Bay Structural and Material Testing Laboratory on the campus of Texas A&M University. The cross-section of the bridge girder was composed of self-consolidating concrete with a total of 24 prestressed and 8 non-prestressed AFRP bars. The bridge deck consisted of a 203 mm (8 in.) conventional steel reinforced concrete slab. A flexure test was conducted to determine the moment-curvature relationship, flexure load capacity, and failure mode. The test was conducted as a simply supported, four point bending test in order to create a region of constant moment at the center of the beam. Two shear tests were conducted to determine the shear capacity, failure mode, maximum strain in the web, and moment-curvature relationship. The shear tests were conducted as a simply supported, three point bending test with varying load placement. The results of these tests were compared to a similar study which investigated the structural performance of a conventional steel reinforced AASHTO I-girder Type I with topping deck (Trejo et al. 2008).

The specimen was also analyzed analytically to determine the effect on performance of varying the prestressing ratio of the separate layers in the bottom flange of the girder. The goal of this analysis was to determine an optimal prestressing layout to improve the performance at the ultimate state, while still satisfying serviceability limits. The prestressing ratio of the layers were varied from 0 to 50 percent in 5 percent increments to study the moment and curvature at both the cracking and ultimate states, along with the available compressive stress due to prestressing at the bottom of the girder.

The results of this research confirms that the experimental specimen showed adequate strength and deformation capacities, satisfying the AASHTO LRFD design criteria. Additionally, the experimental specimen showed significantly greater cracking when compared to the conventional steel reinforced specimen, which is an early warning of impending failure. It was also determined that reducing the prestressing ratio of the AFRP bars in the lower layers improves the ductility of the specimen. The moment capacity can also be improved depending on the prestressing layout. However, reducing the prestressing ratio of the bottom layers causes the cracking moment and available compressive stress at the bottom of the girder to diminish. In order to compensate for this loss, the non-prestressed bars in the web can be prestressed. The optimal prestressing layout features the bottom three layers of the specimen prestressed to 35, 40, and 45 percent of their ultimate capacity, and two of the three layers of middle bars prestressed to 50 percent of their ultimate capacity.

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