Evaluation of High-Performance Fiber-Reinforced Concrete for Closure Pours for Bridge Decks

About the project:

Connections and closure pours in bridge decks often are a source of irreversible damage to bridges because of harmful agents penetrating into cracks, which can lead to costly repairs. While closure pours are not essential to the construction of every bridge, they commonly are used to join the sections of a bridge deck.

Cracks in closure pours and connections are caused by:
• Shrinkage,
• Application of service loads after the concrete has hardened, and
• Poor bonding of these poured sections to bridge-deck sections at the bond interface, where wide cracks allow seepage of water and other compounds.

The two major issues with closure pours and connections are cracking within the sections and separation at the bond surface. To alleviate these problems and extend their length of service, this study will investigate high-performance fiber-reinforced concrete (HPFRC) mixtures to determine which types of HPFRC will provide high-bond strength and limit cracking so to produce tight crack

Project Team

Co-Principal Investigators