Title: History of HPC in Virginia

Author(s): C. Ozyildirim

Publication: Symposium Paper

Volume: 228

Issue:

Appears on pages(s): 821-832

Keywords: high-performance concrete; lightweight concrete; permeability; self-consolidating concrete; strength; ultra high-performance fiber-reinforced concrete

DOI: 10.14359/14506

Date: 6/1/2005

Abstract:
In the mid-1990s, in cooperation with the Federal Highway Administration, the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) initiated the high-performance concrete (HPC) program. Prior to that time, many improvements had been made in design, materials, and construction practices in VDOT, establishing the needed foundation for the HPC program. Initially, the HPC program entailed work with normal weight aggregates and included high strength, low permeability, and heat control. Afterward, work was started on lightweight HPC with high strength and low permeability. The first LWHPC bridge was constructed in 2001. VDOT also evaluated another characteristic of HPC: high workability. In 2001, VDOT used self-consolidating concrete (SCC) in an arch bridge. This concrete had very high flow characteristics, enabling consolidation without mechanical vibration. VDOT is currently studying the performance of SCC in Bulb-T beams. HPC efforts have led VDOT to investigate ultra-HPC fiber-reinforced concrete in Bulb-T beams with no conventional mild steel reinforcement, very high compressive strength, and negligible permeability.