National Concrete Pavement Technology Center

Project description

Phase I: The first stage will focus on HPC mix designs and measurement of shrinkage. Effects of cement type (type K, type G), SRAs and fly ash will be evaluated. Silica fume will be considered to confirm its negative impact. Fibers will be considered if time permits. The second stage will focus on exploring influence of superstructure on deck cracking. A laboratory model will be built to study the restraint and shrinkage. A FEM model will be developed and validated using the experimental results, and parametric study will be carried out. The third stage will aim to develop design and construction recommendations. Phase II: In this project, combined knowledge of construction materials and structural design will be applied to develop a holistic approach that lessens premature cracking in concrete bridge decks in Illinois. The materials part of the project will focus on expanding the initial successes (during phase I) in developing robust concrete mixes using expansive components and shrinkage reducer agents (SRAs), and to investigate effects of lightweight aggregates in combination with expansive components. The structural part will include building and monitoring a lab bridge deck model using an SRA concrete mix and perform parametric finite element analyses to investigate the effects internal restraint.