Title:
Rehabilitation of PT Concrete Bridge Cantilever Wing Slabs using PT CFRP Rods
Author(s):
Faraj Shahrstan
Publication:
Web Session
Volume:
Issue:
Appears on pages(s):
Keywords:
DOI:
Date:
10/23/2022
Abstract:
Bridge replacement is expensive; the US Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) has estimated that, in 2016, the total cost for the replacement of all structurally deficient highway bridges in more than 47 billion dollars (FHWA 2016). Thus, it is economically viable to develop efficient strengthening systems to rehabilitate existing deteriorated bridges to achieve bridge service life. Several Departments of Transportation have found compromised transverse post-tensioning (PT) steel in bridge cantilever wings, and a cost-effective rehabilitation strategy is required to fulfill the service life of the bridge structure. The current research investigates experimentally the utilization of PT carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) rods near-surface mounted (NSM) using a developed mechanical strengthening system to rehabilitate deteriorated PT bridge cantilever wings. The mechanical strengthening system is a metal anchor compromised of a stainless-steel barrel and split aluminum wedges in direct contact with a CFRP rod. The research aims to evaluate the viability of the CFRP rods in their ability to improve the service life of deteriorated PT concrete bridges and highlight the importance of corrective and protective maintenance strategies. The experimental program consists of fabricating, casting, post-tensioning, and testing under simulated service loads as per CSA S6-19 Bridge Code prior to ultimate failure of half-scale bridge deck cantilever specimens based on an existing in-situ bridge structure with compromised transverse steel post-tensioning within its cantilever wings. Two half-scale bridge cantilevers were built: one cantilever specimen as the control and the second cantilever specimen as a damaged specimen incorporating the proposed rehabilitation with PT CFRP rods.