Bond Performance in Self-Consolidating Concrete Pretensioned Bridge Girders

This study investigated the potential application of high-early-strength self-consolidating concrete (HES SCC) in precast, prestressed bridge girders. This paper discusses the findings from tests performed to evaluate the transfer length, development length, and prestress losses of prestressed bridge girder-deck systems made with HES SCC. These results were compared to control girder-deck systems made with conventional concrete (CC). In addition, pullout tests were performed to investigate the top-bar effect on the tension development length of mild steel reinforcement. The results indicate that the bond performance of the HES SCC girders is similar to or better than that of the companion control CC girders. The ACI 318-08 and American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) Load and Resistance Factor Design (LRFD) equations for strand transfer and development length are appropriate for HES SCC girder-deck systems. The evaluated elastic shortening and gains are reasonably estimated using the AASHTO and ACI 318-08 expressions. The ACI 318-08 and AASHTO top-bar multipliers are appropriate for the specimens evaluated in this study.