Title:
Evaluation of Reinforced Concrete Deck Girder Bridge Bent Caps with 1950s Vintage Details: Laboratory Tests
Author(s):
A. Ekin Senturk and Christopher Higgins
Publication:
Structural Journal
Volume:
107
Issue:
5
Appears on pages(s):
534-543
Keywords:
bent caps; bridges; cracking; deep beams; laboratory tests; reinforced concrete; shear; ultimate strength
DOI:
10.14359/51663904
Date:
9/1/2010
Abstract:
To develop a methodology for the assessment of vintage reinforced concrete deck girder (RCDG) bridge bent caps, five realistic fullscale replicas of in-service bent caps with 1950s vintage details, including the overall geometry, reinforcement configuration, and material properties, were constructed and tested under incremental cyclic loads. The test specimens were a subassemblage of pertinent bridge components at the bent cap region, including the integral columns, cap beam, and portions of the monolithic internal girders that frame into the cap. The results showed that the shear span-depth ratio (a/d), the anchorage of flexural steel, and web reinforcement were all salient parameters that affected ultimate shear capacity. The bond stress provided in AASHTO-LRFD and ACI 318-08 were found to underestimate the available flexural anchorage because neither of these provisions takes into account the beneficial effect of active confining stress on bond strength.