Date of Award:

5-2020

Document Type:

Thesis

Degree Name:

Master of Science (MS)

Department:

Civil and Environmental Engineering

Committee Chair(s)

Marc Maguire

Committee

Marc Maguire

Committee

Andrew Sorensen

Committee

Michelle Mekker

Abstract

Bridge deck corrosion is a major expense in the U.S. every year. The increased use of deicing salts in cold weather climates has led to corrosion of the steel reinforcement in bridge decks, which leads to spalling and delamination of the concrete cover. This results in costly rehabilitations or repairs, and more sustainable bridge deck solutions must be provided to prevent this cycle.

As a part of this research project, a corrosion-resistant, hybrid reinforcement strategy that is shown to be cost neutral with epoxy coated rebar is proposed. The hybrid reinforcement strategy, consisting of discrete Glass Fiber Reinforced Polymer (GFRP) bars along with alkali-resistant fiberglass composite macrofibers, will provide the corrosion-resistance of the GFRP bridge decks along with enhanced ductility.

The research project described consisted of a static testing portion, as well as fatigue testing on full-scale 4’x12’ bridge deck specimens. The three deck types included steel, GFRP-only, and Hybrid GFRP reinforcing in Fiber Reinforced Concrete (FRC). The static decks were loaded until failure, and the fatigue decks experienced 1 or 2 million cycles prior to being tested to failure. The Hybrid Reinforced Concrete (HRC) decks proved to be a viable solution that increases post-peak ductility and passes service and limit state requirements.

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Available for download on Thursday, May 01, 2025

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