Beam End Repair for Prestressed Concrete Beams

Project Details
STATUS

Completed

PROJECT NUMBER

17-598, TR-715

START DATE

01/01/17

END DATE

09/30/20

FOCUS AREAS

Infrastructure

RESEARCH CENTERS InTrans, BEC
SPONSORS

Iowa Department of Transportation
Iowa Highway Research Board

Researchers
Principal Investigator
Behrouz Shafei

Structural Engineer, BEC

Co-Principal Investigator
Brent Phares

Bridge Research Engineer, BEC

About the research

Precast prestressed concrete beams (PPCBs) have been a popular and economical choice for bridge superstructures for many years. Unfortunately, where the ends of the beams are subject to contamination from deicing chemicals, there has been accelerated deterioration of the concrete. As this deterioration continues, it eventually compromises the structural capacity of the beam.

This research investigates rehabilitation methods for restoring the full capacity of the beam, extending the service life of the bridge. The outcome would include potential retrofit concepts for typical beam seats at abutments and pier caps.

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