Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers Bridge Engineering 160 March 2007 Issue BE1 Pages 2535 Paper

15008 Received 30/10/2006 Accepted 30/01/2007 Keywords: bridges/composite structures/reviews Stuart R. Gordon Senior Project Engineer, URS Corporation Ltd, Edinburgh, Scotland, UK Ian M. May Professor of Civil Engineering, Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, Scotland, UK

Precast deck systems for steel-concrete composite bridges

S. R. Gordon MSc, PhD, CEng, MICE and I. M. May
MSc, PhD, CEng, FICE, FIStructE One important construction issue that should not be overlooked is the levelling of the precast units on the main girders. This can be achieved either by using a system of foot-screws cast into the units at appropriate positions or shims may be used below the units to ensure a good line is achieved prior to placing the in situ concrete to complete the composite deck. It is unlikely that full-width precast deck units would be used on small-span concrete bridges using prestressed concrete bridge beams, as conventional practice and detailing would dictate that in situ decks are better suited to this form of construction with the use of permanent formwork panels. Liebenberg2 discussed various forms of small- and medium-span concrete bridges of this type and these generally consist of multi-beam arrangements or solid or voided slabs. The longer span forms of prestressed spine beams will use prefabricated elements in segmental construction but these will generally incorporate the spine beam and deck in a single prestressed unit as discussed by Soubry.3 2. UK EXPERIENCE IN PRECAST BRIDGE DECK SYSTEMS Several bridges have been built in the UK using partial-depth precast units. Recent examples in Scotland include the A828 Creagan Diversion Bridge4 at Loch Creran in the West Highlands, designed by Carl Bro, the Muckle Roe Bridge in Shetland and the Hutton Mill Bridge5 in Berwickshire, designed by The Babtie Group and Babtie, Shaw and Morton, respectively. These structures are all of similar form, however, the sizes of the units vary, with those at Creagan being signicantly larger, at 11 m wide and 3$5 m long, in comparison with the others (Fig. 1). In partial-depth construction, which effectively relies on the units to act as participating formwork, the units form an integral composite element in the completed deck. This form of construction requires a partial-depth unit to be placed on the steel superstructure which is then made composite with an in situ concrete topping (Fig. 2). The partial-depth units provide one solution to the provision of precast decks but suffer from several inherent disadvantages owing to their thin form. The disadvantages include the large amount of reinforcement required in the units for the temporary erection conditions in order to develop sufcient moment capacity during the lift-in, the inherent exibility of the units and the need for signicant site concreting as the in situ topping slab has to be cast over the units to form the composite deck. It would clearly be benecial to adopt full-depth precast units for the deck construction to overcome these inherent disadvantages. Gordon May 25 This paper reviews the recent application of precast deck systems for all forms of bridge but with particular emphasis on steel-concrete composite bridges. The many forms of precast elements are discussed including fulldepth and partial-depth units (which require an in situ concrete topping) and the use of permanent formwork systems. Examples of the use of precast decks in Europe, in particular in Scandinavia, the Far East and the USA are highlighted. The development of steel-free decks in Canada is also discussed.

1. INTRODUCTION Composite bridges using precast bridge deck units have been constructed for over 40 years and can take many forms. Deck units may be either full-depth or partial-depth (requiring to be made composite with an in situ concrete topping), and may be connected at transverse joints using reinforced concrete, dryjointed details or they may be post-tensioned longitudinally to provide continuity. Depending on where the bridge is being designed and built, the deck units may be reinforced concrete, prestressed concrete or un-reinforced concrete, in the case of steel-free decks. Typically, reinforced concrete is preferred in the UK, whereas prestressed concrete is favoured in the USA, the Far East and on the continent of Europe. Dry-jointed and steel-free decks are more likely to be found in Sweden and Canada, respectively. This review covers various aspects of the design and construction of precast bridge deck units. Examples of full-depth and partialdepth construction are discussed, with particular emphasis on the practices of the UK, USA, Sweden, France and Japan. Unless noted otherwise, the precast systems described are all full-width deck units that span over the main beams, from parapet to parapet. Units that span between adjacent beams only or over a series of beams in a multi-beam bridge are referred to as modular. Steel bridges have relatively few beams in comparison with concrete bridges and require a signicant level of site concreting for the deck construction that precast units, with adequate detailing, can readily provide an alternative to. Continuous steel bridges in particular, are used over existing motorways and rivers and can benet greatly from the advantages of precasting. The use of precast units for forming composite steel bridges has been reviewed by Yandzio and Iles1 where some of the construction aspects have been discussed. Bridge Engineering 160 Issue BE1

Precast deck systems for steelconcrete composite bridges

the transverse joints using a series of lapped, looped bars, with the longitudinal reinforcement being only 12 mm diameter bars. It is understood that the deck slab has not been designed as continuous over the piers for negative hogging moment, and that the heavily proled steelwork is adequate to resist the negative moments. The main span to the Finnieston Bridge in Glasgow, designed by Halcrow (known locally as the Squinty Bridge), comprises a single steelwork arch member traversing and supporting a composite ladder beam deck, in turn supporting full-depth precast units.6 The deck units are connected transversely and longitudinally by joints incorporating staggered, looped bar joints with additional central overlapping looped bars in places. The resulting stresses at the joints are expected to be smaller in comparison with transverse joints in composite plate girder bridges (Fig. 4). The River Usk Bridge is a 187 m span tied-arch bridge [Cocksedge C., Faber Maunsell, Personal communication, January 2007], located in Newport, South Wales. A key innovation developed by the design and build team was the use of full-depth precast concrete deck units. These brought benets to the designer in largely eliminating the uncertainty in load-sharing of tensile forces between the steel tie beam and the concrete deck, and for the contractor through a signicant programme saving plus minimising risk in working over a river. The deck panels are arranged to t with the ladder beams, with most in situ stitches being located over beam anges. The joints use staggered, looped bars with further lacing bars.

Fig. 1. Loch Creran Bridge, Creagan. Partial-depth units being placed on steelwork (reproduced by kind permission of Grontmij/Carl Bro) With full-depth units, the site concreting is considerably reduced in comparison with the partial-depth units as it is limited to the pockets or box-outs and transverse in situ stitches only, where the deck is not excessively wide (Fig. 3). There is also a signicant saving in deck reinforcement for the temporary lift-in condition as the full depth is provided from the outset, and there is no issue with exibility of the units as the stiffness is largely unchanged from the erection condition to the in-service condition. In addition, construction trafc can be accommodated on the bridge deck at an earlier stage leading to a shorter construction period. There is considerable interest in the UK, among both designers and contractors alike, in the possibility of adopting such units.

In their work on motorway widening, Iles7 and Hayward and Sadler8 describe various forms of construction for replacement over-bridges and under-bridges. Iles considers precast deck units for simple spans only and highlights the concerns of the Department of Transport with respect to durability in the negative moment areas of such decks, especially where precompression has not been achieved. An example of a typical simply supported bridge is given, which is post-tensioned to Full-depth precast units were used in the ve-span bridge develop the required deck pre-compression after grouting the replacement in Wexford, Ireland.1 The precast units were jointed at transverse joints, but prior to lling the pockets for the shear studs with grout. In this way, the steelwork is not also preTransverse joint compressed. However, since between the publication of the above, adjacent units developments have been made In situ concrete topping including fill to pockets for shear studs in precast units and the authors would recommend Partial-depth, precast deck considering the use of precast unit deck units in multi-span bridges without the use of post-tensioning. Hayward and Sadler8 note that the rst use of precast deck units in a composite structure in the UK was Bushey Arches Railway Bridge at Watford in 1963. They go on to discuss the construction of prefabricated steel composite decks to be used as lift-in sections to reduce construction times. These use Gordon May

Steel girder

Fig. 2. Partial-depth deck unit construction on steelwork (parapet upstands omitted) 26 Bridge Engineering 160 Issue BE1

Precast deck systems for steelconcrete composite bridges

Tansverse joint between adjacent units Full-depth precast deck unit

post-tensioning or jacking of the decks is required to induce pre-compression. Cost comparisons for the different types of bridges studied showed that the form of construction was not as signicant in the overall cost as the cost of delays and disruption to trafc calculated using Highways Agency-produced software, Quadro. These associated trafc costs could easily approach the cost of constructing the replacement bridge. The important issue then is to adopt a form of construction that reduces construction times and avoids the associated trafc delays.

Steel girder

Mortar fill to pockets for shear studs and to transverse joints

Fig. 3. Full-depth deck unit construction on steelwork (parapet upstands omitted) integral steel cross-head details and are lifted in on a span-by-span basis. In this case, to achieve continuity of deck reinforcement over the supports cast-in bar couplers are used with straight continuity bars at a 1100 mm long stitch joint (Fig. 5). Alignment can be ensured by prefabrication at ground level. It is suggested that precast deck units are best suited to single-span bridges and a grout-lled pocket detail with no reinforcement is shown. It is also noted that to provide continuity in multi-span bridges

3. PERMANENT FORMWORK SYSTEMS Many bridges built in the UK adopt a system of precast units that are used to support and form in situ decks, which are termed permanent formwork. Such systems have been available for bridge deck construction for many years in the UK and USA, in particular. Proprietary systems such as Omnia by Hanson9 and EMJ produced by EMJ Plastics Ltd10 are widely used to form composite bridge decks over differing arrangements of steel girders. Both systems have been widely used successfully throughout the UK in conjunction with the Highways Agency guidance given in BA36/90.11 However, these systems are only appropriate in forming decks between girders and do no address the problem of constructing bridge deck cantilevers. This is readily achieved with precast deck units to suit the site-specic requirements. One interesting point noted by Soubry3 is that it may be necessary to detail spacer bracing in the steelwork to ensure that the distance between the main beams is maintained throughout a span to accommodate permanent formwork of all kinds.

(a)

4. SWEDISH AND OTHER EUROPEAN EXPERIENCE IN PRECAST BRIDGE DECK SYSTEMS Precast composite bridge construction has recently become popular in Europe and by 2001 over 50 such bridges had been constructed in Sweden alone. Others have been constructed in France, Luxemburg and Norway. In France, in particular, the construction times for motorway bridges need to be very short given the extensive use of toll roads, as it is argued that if the contract period extends beyond 2 weeks, road users will adopt an alternative route and tend not to return to the old routes. This results in signicant losses in revenue and so the use of modular and precast construction has become very popular. Indeed, according to the Egan Report12 standard bridge designs are adopted on the Continent for this purpose.
(b)

Fig. 4. Finnieston Bridge, Glasgow. (a) Finnieston Bridge, Glasgow;6 (reproduced by kind permission of Nuttal) (b) View of typical precast deck units used for the bridge deck construction Bridge Engineering 160 Issue BE1

Collin and Lundmark13 discussed the state-of-the-art fabrication and construction of recent Swedish bridges and described the use of prefabricated concrete decks in composite bridges. The advantages of this form of bridge deck over in situ Gordon May 27

Precast deck systems for steelconcrete composite bridges

In Sweden, various solutions for prefabricated bridge deck elements exist, with screen walls at the deck ends also being prefabricated to shorten construction times. Collin et al.14 describe one such bridge over Flaxnan in Sweden, where 100 mm wide grouted joints were used between elements and headed shear studs were cast in pockets in the deck units to provide composite action. In this case, the deck was simply supported with (a) longitudinal pre-stressing 1100 in situ joint through eight 16 mm diameter cables holding the 100 C/C 400 400 100 C/C Cast in 740 couplers for units together. They also CCL rebar 465 described a three-span bridge couplers rbyhus, Sweden where in O 400 mm long in situ joints were used with 16 mm diameter looped bars over the full width of the bridge (Fig. 6). It is assumed that the joints provide longitudinal continuity in the composite 830 300 structure, both in the positive (b) (c) and negative moment areas of the bridge deck. Collin Fig. 5. Integral cross-head detail with full continuity stitch.7 (a) Section at intermediate support; et al. noted the similarities to (b) elevation on splice detail; (c) section through splice detail (dimensions in mm) (reproduced the French practice of by kind permission of SCI) splicing straight bars in longer, 640 mm joints with decks, including the improved working environment for studs being site welded to reduce problems of conicts with formwork and falsework, reinforcement and deck casting, deck reinforcement. were discussed. The use of dry joints in prefabricated deck construction has been discussed by Collin et al.14,15 with particular reference to the work of Stoltz.16 A test programme was University undertaken at Lulea to investigate a proposed bridge deck unit which relied on dry, transverse joints with a series of overlapping male-female connections or tongues to prevent relative vertical displacements between the deck units at the joints (Fig. 7). A replacement bridge was built kan near using this system at Ro , where the existing bridge Pitea was replaced in a 28 h period. kan However, as the bridge at Ro was simply supported, the deck would be in compression throughout. To study the effects Gordon May

rbyhus, Sweden13 (reproduced by kind permission of P. Collin) Fig. 6. Bridge over railway at O 28 Bridge Engineering 160 Issue BE1

Precast deck systems for steelconcrete composite bridges

A requirement of the Swedish Highways Authority has been for a contact pre-compressive stress of 4 N/mm2 to be achieved across compressive joints. In order to achieve this in the tests carried out by Strangbetong, the units had to be stressed together with posttensioning strands, involving large forces and complicating what would otherwise have been a simple match-cast butt joint with post-tensioning ducts. The force developed also tends to be carried in part by the composite steel beam, which creates problems with achieving the required minimum stress if prestressing takes place after curing of the concrete slab. One way of avoiding the post-tensioning problems with the steel beam would be to stress the deck units prior to making the system composite. Following discussions with Strangbetong, it was determined that when the deck units are sufciently narrow, approximately 1$8 m long, the cracking in the negative moment region occurs only at the jointing positions. If joints are then provided at the locations where cracking is expected details can be developed to effectively seal them. Clearly, cracks occurring within the deck units can only be controlled by good detailing, by spacing the bars at close centres, as would be the case for a standard reinforced concrete deck design. Hever17 discussed the use of prefabricated deck units used primarily in France and Luxemburg by the ProlARBED design and construct company. Hever described a transverse joint used in France that incorporates short lengths of straight reinforcing bars with down-stands incorporated in the ends of the precast concrete deck units to negate the requirement for formwork. Following the concreting of the transverse joints, the structures are then effectively pre-stressed longitudinally by jacking the completed composite structure down on to its bearings at the intermediate supports of the bridge. By introducing a global compression in this way, the tension in the deck slab due to live and transient load effects can be reduced, thereby requiring shorter lap lengths to the straight bars and thus shorter joint lengths (Fig. 8). The deck units are used in conjunction with steel plate girders in this case, for spans up to 40 m. ProlARBED adopt a system of end-plating rolled beams and shear-connecting these to concrete cross-heads or diaphragms to provide continuity. It is worth noting that the beams can be made composite with the precast deck slabs prior to casting the diaphragm, such that the positive mid-span moments are increased relative to the negative support moments, thus reducing the negative moments further. In this way the joint

Fig. 7. Test units for dry-jointed precast deck units16 (reproduced by kind permission of P. Collin) of negative moments on the joints and relative horizontal and vertical displacements, full-scale models were constructed and tested and indicated that the joints would open by approximately 1$1 mm. In addition, the bridge was load tested to determine the elastic behaviour under live load. It behaved well under static loading; however, fatigue failures of headed shear studs near the supports were recorded. It was proposed that for continuous bridges using dry joints, even though the deck elements in tension would not be included in the deck stiffness values used in the design calculations, that they should be properly connected to the steel throughout. Clearly, the girders are considered as non-composite in the negative moment regions. From discussions with the Scandinavian contractor Strangbetong, it is understood that the Swedish Highways Authority has accepted the principle behind reinforced concrete tension joints in negative moment areas of bridge decks, and as a result very little or no testing has been carried out on looped bar joints in Sweden. The Swedish design codes accept this form of detail explicitly for tension connections when detailing is done to current Swedish practice, such that a minimum percentage of reinforcement is provided in the joint. Recently, the Swedish Highways Authority has shown interest in the use of dry-joint systems for deck joints in areas of compression, where Stoltz16 has proposed eliminating the need for grout and providing deck units that are match-cast.
640

C30/37 Concrete element Overlapping bars C40/50 Insitu concrete

14 mm diam, 150 mm C/C

Wire mesh

Sealant
17

Fig. 8. In situ stitching detail for ProlARBED bridges Bridge Engineering 160 Issue BE1

(dimensions in mm) (reproduced by kind permission of ProlARBED) Gordon May 29

Precast deck systems for steelconcrete composite bridges

ange. This represents a low density of shear studs that clearly reects the non-composite nature of the bridge deck. Typically, the spacing of studs would be a maximum of 600 mm for bridge designs in accordance with the UK Code of Practice, BS5400.20 For the splice connections of the steel girders, the bottom anges and webs were bolted splices but the top anges were all welded connections to provide a smooth surface for laying the precast concrete deck slabs. In the UK, the precast slabs are likely to be formed to suit the rapid erection of the steelwork, using traditional bolted site splices where required. Hence, box-outs in the units should accommodate the top ange bolted splice cover plates as required. Precast deck units have been used on major landmark structures in the Far East, including the Tsing Ma suspension bridge in Hong Kong and its neighbour, the Ting Kau Bridge, the worlds rst major four-span cable-stayed bridge.21,22 The bridge supports approximately 29 000 tonnes of concrete deck panels. A programme of static testing was developed for the precast panels for the deck construction of the Ting Kau Bridge, which used a series of staggered, looped bars, similar to those tested by the authors,19 to resist loading in exure. Schlaich23 described the erection methods for cable-stayed bridges using precast deck units with particular reference to the Ting Kau Bridge, and design methodology for the use of precast units. The Alex Fraser Bridge to Annacis Island in Canada used a similar form of construction.24 Precast deck units have also been used for new construction and for deck rehabilitation in South Korea. In their work on shear connections in the pockets of full-depth precast deck units, Shim et al.25 used similar details to those in the UK and elsewhere for the full-depth units. Typically, the deck units were longitudinally post-tensioned reducing the occurrence of cracking and the reliance on a reinforced concrete detail to carry the tension force at the joints. Shim et al. considered the behaviour of shear connectors in precast deck construction and found that they deformed more than in comparable in situ deck slabs. They used a test beam with seven precast units, post-tensioned longitudinally, to determine the fatigue behaviour and found the studs to be partially interactive near the end of the fatigue loading cycles. They showed that the bonding and friction between the precast slab and the steel beam increases the endurance of the shear connectors and that the ultimate slip capacity of the shear connectors is greater than for similar in situ slabs owing to the effect of the bedding layer. Hence, it has been shown that using a bedding layer of high-strength mortar below precast deck units provides a benet in shear connection behaviour and does not give an area of concern, as might have been anticipated.

Fig. 9. Typical joint in non-composite Imabeppu Bridge, Japan18 length is further reduced. Care is required in the design to ensure positive moments due to creep; shrinkage and differential temperature effects are catered for at the end plates of the beams. 5. FAR EASTERN EXPERIENCE IN PRECAST BRIDGE DECK SYSTEMS Hikosaka et al.18 discuss the design of the Imabeppu River Bridge, part of the national expressway network in Japan. The global bridge design used a technique of forming a composite columnto-deck connection to impart improved seismic characteristics to the bridge, and adopted a new system of balanced-cantilever erection. As part of the twin-plate girder construction, the deck was constructed using precast bridge deck units, jointed in a similar fashion to those tested by the authors and described in a previous paper.19 The deck was designed to be non-composite, but Hikosaka et al. suggest that the deck may be designed as composite, if preferred. The deck was also transversely posttensioned to increase the allowable span between girders and reduce the level of cracking during handling and in service. The jointing detail used an arrangement of staggered, looped bars protruding from the ends of the precast deck units (Fig. 9). The deck slabs were similar in size to those adopted for the Creagan Bridge4 discussed earlier, except they were of full-depth construction, 10$4 m wide, 4$0 m long and 0$31 m thick and weighing 34 tonnes. The deck unit box-outs for the shear studs were 600 mm wide by 120 mm long at 1 m centres along the top 30 Bridge Engineering 160 Issue BE1

6. AMERICAN EXPERIENCE IN PRECAST BRIDGE DECK SYSTEMS In May 2004, the Federal Highway Administration26,27 and the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Ofcials (AASHTO) undertook a scanning tour of Japan and selected European countries to investigate the current practice in prefabricated bridge technologies. Partial-depth deck systems being used in Germany and full-depth deck units used elsewhere in Europe were studied with recommendations that these systems should be considered for implementation in America. The use of reinforced concrete transverse jointing Gordon May

Precast deck systems for steelconcrete composite bridges

form a slight haunch and contained bedding mortar, or a thick llet of expanded polystyrene foam was used (Fig. 10). Slavis32 emphasised the use of precast pre-stressed decks in bridge deck Panel Panel replacement in order to produce the minimum trafc L 76 52 5 disruption. In many cases the deck units were cast off-site, 6 fillet weld transported and placed directly from the trucks onto the main girders, eliminating Packers 652 (915 C/C) P .P .C. Deck panels are to be graded by the need for site storage. In a adjusting the height replacement scheme for the of the angle above Steel beam the top of the girder Santa Fe railway, units were brought to the site by rail, and lifted in by locomotive crane onto girders prepared Fig. 10. Details of pre-stressed precast deck units in USA.31 View of precast units under with an epoxy mortar bed. In construction over steel girders (dimensions in mm) (reproduced by kind permission of PCI) this case no shear connectors were used as the mortar acted details using predominantly looped bars was studied and as a levelling screed and as an adhesive. recommended for development. At the time of writing, a programme of research28 is being identied in the USA to More recently, great efforts have been made in the USA to develop develop reinforced concrete transverse joints for use in precast precast deck systems that are competitive with traditional in situ bridge deck units. concrete decks and are quick to erect. Many researchers have attempted to develop complete systems rather than develop discrete In 1995, Issa et al.29 undertook a state-of-the-art survey in the details for general application. The goal of the research of Yamane USA of the use of full-depth precast deck units in the USA to et al.33 was to develop a full-depth, precast, pre-stressed bridge determine the techniques and systems being used in precast deck system for concrete deck replacement. They noted that many composite deck construction and rehabilitation. They bridge deck replacements had been carried out with reinforced particularly noted the advantages of time savings available in decks but not pre-stressed deck systems for several reasons, and bridge deck repair, deck replacement and rehabilitation. In the noted the particular difculties in transferring and developing the USA, the complete removal of an existing concrete deck and required pre-stress from the strands in the transverse negative replacement with a new deck system is not uncommon. moment regions over the external girders, presumably where short cantilever lengths were required. The precast, reinforced concrete Issa et al. gave a brief history of the use of precast deck units in deck systems they studied in their review were all longitudinally North America, discussed the recent practice and noted that post-tensioned across shear key joints with welded or bolted research was conducted as early as 1975 into such systems, with connections to the steelwork in the grout-lled pockets. 21 states using precast pre-stressed deck panels since 1982. A recommended practice guide for the use of precast deck units In the system developed by Yamane et al. the precast deck units was produced in 1988 by the Precast Concrete Institute Bridge incorporated haunches or stems to maximise the positive effects of Producers Committee.30 Of the precast deck systems described, the longitudinal post-tensioning and transverse pre-tensioning by almost all were pre-stressed in some way. Generally, transverse achieving the required neutral axis depth and hence the required pre-tensioning was preferred to reduce cracking during handling eccentricity to develop the required pre-stress prole. Interestingly, and erection. Post-tensioning was generally applied to all the pre-stressing is applied at mid-depth longitudinally and continuous bridges except for one seven-span example in Maine transversely such that the strand and reinforcement combine to where no pre-stressing was applied and the system was reported give the required strength. Rapid-set, non-shrink grout was chosen to be leaking and cracking at the transverse joints. In several of for joints in the system to reduce construction times. the simply supported bridges reported, no longitudinal prestressing was applied, but the decks perform well, as they are in Yamane et al. noted that the times and costs for installing the longitudinal compression throughout. Interestingly, the units post-tensioning steel and grouting are substantial. In suggested have been used on all forms of bridge in the USA, including modications to their system, they proposed a temporary (top) composite plate girders, concrete beams, cable-stayed and post-tensioning system and permanent strand post-tensioning in suspension bridges. the deck to reduce time and costs and to increase ease of installation. In the preparation of the joints, sand-blasting was used to treat the Goldberg31 discussed the use of pre-stressed precast deck transverse, shear key construction joints faces. The proposed deck panels as permanent formwork and noted that panels were system was modelled using three-dimensional, nite-element used on the Illinois Tollway in 1956. The American systems analysis. Three full panels were fabricated and the system was constructed over twin steel girders, and tested. Testing was both described often adopted a welded angle on the top ange to
Insitu deck concrete

Bridge Engineering 160 Issue BE1

Precast deck systems for steelconcrete composite bridges

Gordon May

31

13410 1219 3657 3657 Cast-in-place topping (varies from 89 to 114 mm) 3657 1219

With concrete girders

114 mm precast prestressed continuous panel Cross section of the NUDECK system

With steel girders

76 mm o.d., 64 mm i.d., 25mm pitch, 914 mm long

22mm diam bar

64mm diam strand at 406 mm c/c

2438

406

A 457 With concrete girders Plan view of precast NUDECK panel (a) Cast-in-place topping Precast units joined using spiral reinforcement details in pockets A

With steel girders

Section AA (b)

Fig. 11. Details of the NUDECK deck units by Badie et al. (a) Cross-section and plan on continuous precast panels; (b) transverse section through joint between units showing spiral reinforcement (reproduced by kind permission of PCI) static and cyclic fatigue loading. Marginal increases in the concrete deck stresses were noted after 2 million cycles of loading. Good transfer of load across the transverse joints was observed. On testing to failure, no unusual crack patterns or areas of distress were recorded at the transverse joint. The thin deck was found to be unserviceable in the temporary condition (without longitudinal continuity) without additional support. They proposed developing a system to provide support to the deck edge or some form of continuity. The nal precast, pre-stressed deck system performed well and failed at loads of 190% of the capacities in punching shear required by the AASHTO code of practice.34 In contrast to the work of Yamane et al. work was carried out by Badie et al.35 to develop a partial-depth precast, pre-stressed concrete deck panel system, NUDECK, to be used as permanent 32 Bridge Engineering 160 Issue BE1 formwork in bridge construction. They noted that a major drawback in the other methods of precast deck construction in the USA was the requirement for a thin topping of concrete to ensure good ride quality. In the UK a surfacing layer would be required by BD47/9936 to protect the bridge deck waterproong over the concrete. Badie et al. discussed the problems of reective cracking over the transverse joints in permanent formwork deck units and believe this to be due to the reduction in the longitudinal stiffness over the joint as the precast units are not continuous. However, with adequate detailing this reduction in stiffness may be reduced (Fig. 11). The proposed system still has a nominal change in stiffness at the transverse joint due to the chamfers detailed. They reviewed the permanent formwork Gordon May

35

Precast deck systems for steelconcrete composite bridges

(a)

(b)

(c)

(d)

Fig. 12. Options for systems of top ange to slab connections. (a) bolted connection arrangements; (b) headed shear studs welded to top ange; (c) channel sections welded to top ange; (d) headless shear studs welded to top ange (reproduced by kind permission of ACI) systems currently in use in the USA and developed a system to overcome the drawbacks reported to date. The system used a series of discrete panels which were transversely pre-tensioned and held apart by short lengths of reinforcing bars acting in compression. At the transverse continuity joint the surface roughening was achieved using formwork liners. It is interesting to note that Kumar and Ramirez37 have shown that a roughened concrete surface on this type of construction performs adequately without shear connectors. The longitudinal continuity reinforcement at the transverse joint is minimal for the permanent formwork units, being 12$5 mm diameter bars at 610 mm centres, which are spliced using a specially developed conning technique for the system of spiral wire reinforcement in discrete pockets. Following initial grouting of the units the system is made full-depth and composite using continuous top reinforcement. During testing, no reective cracks were noted over the transverse joint under the fatigue loading. Badie et al. suggest this was due to the stiffening effect of the joint, where the reinforcement is lapped and a spiral conning bar is used, albeit the depth is slightly reduced due to chamfers. The ultimate capacity was greater than required by the AASHTO Code34 by over 47%. The behaviour of the units up to this load was as expected, with longitudinal cracking occurring over the girders in the transverse negative moment region. Compression eld action was considered to be responsible for the residual strength of the deck, and in discussion with Bassi38 they highlighted the transverse arching in the deck discussed by Mufti et al.39 It was considered that this was also the reason for the residual capacity with respect to AASHTO in the permanent formwork NUDECK deck system. The proposed system was found to show less cracking than traditional in situ decks due to reduced shrinkage in the deck before nal casting, and no cracking over the longitudinal panel joints due to continuity of reinforcement and strands. It was also found that an increase in exural capacity in comparison with other permanent formwork systems occurred due to the improved anchorage of the transverse pre-stressing strands near the parapet plinths. Several means of achieving composite action have been adopted throughout the USA including headed shear studs, headless shear studs, welded channel sections, and bolting through the top ange (Fig. 12). The bolting detail results in a large number of bolts as the Bridge Engineering 160 Issue BE1

bolting is much less effective than the standard welded shear connectors. Given the exibility offered by standard shear connectors and the relative ease of use, shear connectors are the preferred option in the UK. However, the current practice in the UK is to use templates in the steel fabrication workshops for setting out shear studs and to shop-weld these, whereas in France and in some American systems shear studs are welded on site to avoid conicts with the reinforcement used for continuity in the box-outs or pockets.

7. STEEL-FREE DECK SYSTEMS Mufti et al.39 described a system of precast deck slabs on plate girders used recently in Canada on forestry and highway bridges. The deck units are precast, un-reinforced or steel-free units formed to an arch prole incorporating steel straps to give a tied-arch form of construction. Mufti et al. were concerned with the durability aspects of reinforced concrete deck slabs and developed a design with nominal reinforcement to prevent early cracking only, and termed these steel-free. They recognised that precast deck units were often a preferred option in remote locations where ready-mix concrete could not be readily supplied. The system relies on providing sufcient stiffness in the external transverse reinforcement to ensure the deck acts as a tied arch (Fig. 13). The system was developed following tests on un-reinforced slabs where it was found that with sufcient lateral restraint to the arch, the arching response would dominate the initial exural response and lead to punching shear failures at loads well in excess of the exural failure load for an unrestrained slab. A test programme was set up using full-scale deck units to investigate the slab behaviour in the construction phase and in service. The tests showed the system to be capable of carrying the large axle and wheel loads imposed by the heaviest of the forestry vehicles in use in Canada, with axle loads and wheel loads up to unfactored values of 396 and 238 kN, respectively. The system was used in simply supported decks only. Although not discussed

75 50 50

322 diam studs 125 long

Constant thickness

2 slope 229

485

2200

485 635 330

3500 3830

Fig. 13. Steel-free arch panel deck units by Mufti et al.39 (dimensions in mm) Gordon May 33

Precast deck systems for steelconcrete composite bridges

specically by Mufti et al. it appears that the intention when grouting up the holes provided for the shear connectors and the transverse gaps between units is to form a longitudinally continuous composite deck with the concrete acting in compression. Bakht and Lam40 also discussed steel-free deck slabs and considered different forms of transverse conning systems to force the slab to behave in an arching action. In these earlier models, the external straps were welded to the top ange of the girders and they noted that the longitudinal connement to the deck was mainly provided by connecting the slab to the beams by means of shear connectors. They discussed systems where the decks were all cast in situ and they tested two methods of connement. These cast in situ decks have led to the development of precast deck systems. The steel-free deck systems have been trialled in Canada but no guidance is given for continuous span bridges of this form. Clearly, providing reinforcement in the longitudinal direction to provide continuity in negative moment regions is feasible but reduces the advantages of providing steelfree decks.

in comparison with full-depth units, the inherent exibility of the units and the need for the xing of reinforcement and casting of concrete after the units are placed. The authors can also see no advantage to be gained by posttensioning bridge decks which contain full-depth units provided the units and joints are well-detailed. The modular deck units produced by Omnia and EMJ are widely used at present and provide an effective formwork replacement in bridge deck construction. Such systems will undoubtedly remain popular among designers. There is considerable interest in the development of precast deck systems in the USA at present and researchers have attempted to develop complete proprietary systems to address all of the observed problems of precasting to date, with some interesting results. The use and development of steel-free decks in Canada is also of interest, and given the large forestry trucks that they are able to accommodate, the authors feel they may nd a use in Europe and the UK as temporary and accommodation bridges, initially. 9. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The authors would like to thank the Steel Construction Institute for their support of research into the use of precast decks for steel concrete composite bridges of which this paper forms part.

8. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS Various forms of precast bridge deck system have been described including partial-depth and full-depth units and the benets discussed. Although such systems appear to be accepted throughout the world there appears to be some reluctance to use them throughout the UK although there are several examples in Scotland and Wales. The authors can see particular advantages in the use of fulldepth units in both single-span and continuous multi-span bridges where access is such that erecting formwork would be difcult. Similarly, their use in bridges to be constructed over existing roads and railways, when the time for occupation of the site is limited would be advantageous, as there is no requirement for extensive false-work. Further advantages of full-depth construction are the speed of construction and the reduced amount of site concreting required, leading to signicant time-saving and, compared to partial-depth units, the inherent stiffness of the units. In addition, provided that they are constructed under factory conditions they should also prove to be durable products and should also have a uniform highquality nish. The authors are unaware of any structural reason why such systems should not be used. One possible reason for the reluctance to use such systems may have been the lack of suitable jointing details, particularly in negative moment regions in continuous bridges. However, test programmes and design studies have been undertaken to investigate such details, including work by the authors.19 This work has demonstrated the strength of a range of typical joints and investigated the crack widths at typical service stress levels and shown them to be within practical limits. In particular the results identied arrangements of staggered, looped bar joints capable of carrying a load based on the ultimate tensile strength of the reinforcement. Partial-depth units offer signicant advantages over traditional formwork in many cases; however, they are not considered to be the preferred solution. They suffer from several disadvantages, including the increased total amount of reinforcement required 34 Bridge Engineering 160 Issue BE1

REFERENCES 1. YANDZIO E. and ILES D. C. Precast Concrete Decks for Composite Highway Bridges. Steel Construction Institute, Ascot, Berkshire, 2004, Technical Report P316. 2. LIEBENBERG A. C. Concrete Bridges; Design and Construction. Longman Scientic and Technical, Essex, UK, 1992, pp. 2630. 3. SOUBRY M. Bridge Detailing Guide. Report C543. Construction Industry Research and Information Association (CIRIA), London, 2001, pp. 415420. 4. ANON. Rail roaded. New Civil Engineer, 4 February 1999, London, pp. 2021. 5. MURRAY M. J. Hutton Mill bridge refurbishment. Bridge Replacement Symposium, Stirling, June 1991 Paper 8. 6. ANON. Steel swinger. New Civil Engineer, 4 May 2006, London. 7. ILES D. C. Replacement Steel Bridges for Motorway Widening Technical Report P204. Steel Construction Institute, Ascot, Berkshire, 1992, pp. 2432. 8. HAYWARD A. and SADLER N. Bridge replacement for motorway widening. Bridge Replacement Symposium, Stirling, June 1991, paper 5. 9. Omnia brochure. See http://www.omnidec.co.uk. Last accessed July 2006. 10. EMJ brochure. See http://www.emjplastics.com. Last accessed July 2006. 11. HIGHWAYS AGENCY. BA36/90, The Use of Permanent Formwork. Design Manual for Roads and Bridges, HMSO, London, 1990. 12. THE EGAN REPORT. Rethinking ConstructionThe report of the Construction Task Force to the Deputy Prime Minister, John Prescott, on the scope for improving the quality and efciency of UK construction, HMSO, London, July 1998. Gordon May

Precast deck systems for steelconcrete composite bridges

13. COLLIN P. and LUNDMARK T. Competitive Swedish composite bridges. IABSE Symposium, Melbourne, 2002. LLER M. Innovative prefabricated 14. COLLIN P., STOLTZ A. and MO composite bridges. IABSE Symposium, Melbourne, 2002. LLER M. and PETURSSON H. Composite bridges with 15. COLLIN P., MO prefabricated decks. Nordic Constructional Steel Conference, Bergen, Norway, 1998. 16. STOLTZ A. Effektivare samverkensbroar (Prefabricerade Tekniska farbonar med torra fogar) Licentiate thesis, Lulea University of Technology), 2001, p. 41 Universitet (Lulea (in Swedish). 17. HEVER M. Developments in Composite Bridges using Rolled Beams. ProlARBED, Luxemburg. 18. HIKOSAKA H., AKEHASHI K., SASAKI Y., AGAWA K. and HUANG L. Construction of steel girder bridge rigidly connected to concrete piers with Perfobond plates. In Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference on Current and Future Bridge Trends in Bridge Design Construction and Maintenance, Hong Kong, (DAS P. C., FRANGOPOL D. M. and NOWAK A. S. (eds)). Thomas Telford, London, 2002, pp. 166174. 19. GORDON S. R. and MAY I. M. Development of in situ joints for precast bridge deck units. Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers, 2006, 159, No. BE1, 1730. 20. BRITISH STANDARDS INSTITUTION. Code of Practice for Design of Concrete Bridges, Part 4: 1990 Steel, Concrete and Composite Bridges. British Standards Institution, London, 1990, BS5400. 21. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ting_Kau_Bridge. Last accessed July 2006. 22. See http://en.structurae.de/photos/index.cfm?JSZ17124. Last accessed July 2006. 23. SCHLAICH M. Erection of cable-stayed bridges having composite decks with precast concrete slabs. Journal of Bridge Engineering, American Society of Civil Engineers, 2001, 6, No. 5, 333339. 24. TROYANO L. F. Bridge EngineeringA Global Perspective. Thomas Telford, London, 2003, pp. 623624. 25. SHIM C. S., KIM J. H., CHANG S. P. and CHUNG C. H. The behaviour of shear connections in a composite beam with a full-depth precast slab. Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers, Structures and Buildings, 2000, 140, 101110. 26. FHWA, AASHTO, NCHRP. International Technology Exchange Program Report, Prefabricated Bridge Elements and Systems in Japan and Europe. Summary Report, May, 2004. See http://gulliver.trb.org/news/blurb_detail.asp?idZ3835 for further details. Last accessed July 2006. 27. TRANSCAN. National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP), Project 2036. Transportation Research Board, Washington, DC, USA, No.8, Fall 2004.

28. National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP), Research Project Statement, Project 1071, FY 2006, Castin-Place Reinforced Concrete Connections for Precast Deck Systems, see http://www4.trb.org/trb/crp.nsf/AllC Projects/NCHRPC10-71 for further details. Last accessed July 2006. 29. ISSA M. A., IDRISS A. T., KASPAR I. I. and KHAYYAT S. Y. Full depth precast and precast prestressed concrete bridge deck panels. Precast/Prestressed Concrete Institute Journal (PCI Journal), 1995, 40, No. 1, 5980. 30. PRECAST CONCRETE INSTITUTE BRIDGE PRODUCERS COMMITTEE. Recommended practice for precast concrete composite bridge deck panels. Precast/Prestressed Concrete Institute Journal, (PCI Journal), 1988, 33, No. 2, 67109. 31. GOLDBERG D. PCI committee on bridges, precast prestressed concrete bridge deck panels, concrete bridges deck systems, special report. Precast/Prestressed Concrete Institute Journal, (PCI Journal), 1987, 32, No. 2, 2645. 32. SLAVIS C. Precast concrete deck modules for bridge deck reconstruction. Precast/Prestressed Concrete Institute Journal, (PCI Journal), 1983, 28, No. 4, 120135. 33. YAMANE T., TADROS M. K., BADIE S. S. and BAISHYA M. C. Full depth precast, prestressed concrete bridges deck systems. Precast/Prestressed Concrete Institute Journal, (PCI Journal), 1998, 43, No. 3, 5066. 34. AASHTO. Standard Specications for Highway Bridges, 15th edn. American Association of State Highway and Transportation Ofcials, Washington DC, 1992. 35. BADIE S. S., BAISHYA M. C. and TADROS M. K. NUDECK, an efcient and economical precast, prestressed bridge deck system. Precast/Prestressed Concrete Institute Journal, (PCI Journal), 1998, 43, No. 5, 5670. 36. HIGHWAYS AGENCY. BD47/99, Waterproong and Surfacing of Concrete Bridge Decks. Design Manual for Roads and Bridges. HMSO, London, 1999. 37. KUMAR N. V. V. P. and RAMIREZ J. A. Interface horizontal shear strength in composite decks with precast concrete panels. Precast/Prestressed Concrete Institute Journal (PCI Journal), 1996, 41, No. 2, 4255. 38. BASSI K. G. NUDECK, an efcient and economical precast, prestressed bridge deck system, readers comments. Precast/Prestressed Concrete Institute Journal, (PCI Journal), 1999, 44, No. 2, 9495. 39. MUFTI A. A., BAKHT B. and NEWHOOK J. P. Precast concrete decks for slab-on-girder systems: a new approach. ACI Structural Journal, 2004, 101, No. 3, 395402. 40. BAKHT B. and LAM C. Behaviour of transverse conning systems for steel free deck slabs. ASCE Journal of Bridge Engineering, May 2000, 139147.

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Bridge Engineering 160 Issue BE1

Precast deck systems for steelconcrete composite bridges

Gordon May

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