The Future

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THE FUTURE

Material properties, such as

corrosion resistance, fire
resistance and durability are
being continuously improved
and exploited.
These inherent qualities of
precast prestressed concrete
and its considerable design
flexibility also make it ideal
for a wide variety of other
applications: poles, piles,
culverts, storage tanks,
retaining walls, sound
barriers and even
railroad ties.

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THE FUTURE

The benefits of High

Performance Concrete are
already beginning to be
applied. These include
reduced initial construction
costs that result from wider
girder spacing and longer
spans as well as reduced
long-term costs due to fewer
replacements and fewer
repairs. High Performance
Concrete is being increasingly
specified for the nations
bridges and structures.

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THE FUTURE

One form of HPC is high

strength concrete. A strength
of 14,000 psi was specified
here for the beams of the
Louetta Road Bridge, a
demonstration project,
located in Houston, Texas.
High strength concrete was
also used in this bridge for
the stay-in-place deck
panels, the cast-in-place
concrete deck and precast
segmental piers.

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THE FUTURE

The Giles Road Bridge in Sarpy

County, Nebraska also was
constructed using High Strength
Concrete. Completed in 1996,
it is another example of a
bridge with 12,000 to 14,000
psi concrete girders and a
5,000 to 8,000 psi concrete
deck. The Federal Highway
Administration, together with
PCI and several states,
continues to promote the use
of High Performance Concrete
in bridge applications. For the
precast industry, High
Performance Concrete often
involves higher than average
compressive strength.

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THE FUTURE

However, other factors, such as

low permeability and
resistance to freeze-thaw not
just strength may be features
of High Performance Concrete
depending on the geographic
location of the bridge and the
component for which it is used.
Lightweight aggregate concrete
with strengths in the 7,000 to
10,000 psi range is also being
used on some newer bridges.
Lightweight concrete provides
reduced dead-loads and
seismic forces.

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THE FUTURE

Strands of larger diameters and

Corrosion-resistant coatings
Stainless-clad
Corrosion-resistant steel
0.7"?
higher strengths are becoming
more common as higher
strength concretes are used
and the demand for higher
tensile force increases. When
0.6 inch diameter strands are
used in conjunction with high
strength concrete, in the
10,000 to 12,000 psi range,
standard I-beams and other
products are able to reach
significantly longer spans never
thought possible before. Even
larger and stronger strand are
on the horizon. Corrosion-
resistant steels and coatings
promise unlimited durability.

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THE FUTURE

Nonmetallic reinforcement
such as glass, carbon and
aramid fiber composites will
be increasingly used for
special applications. A
recent demonstration project
has shown the compatibility
of carbon fiber strands for
prestressing a bridge girder.
Both, internally bonded
prestressing and external
unbonded prestressing
systems are used.

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THE FUTURE

Synthetic, organic and steel

fibers have been shown to
improve toughness and
shrinkage cracking. Recent
developments in high
performance fiber-reinforced
concrete hold promise in
terms of performance and
cost-effectiveness.

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 THE FUTURE

Reinforcing steel corrosion

Migration of chlorides, H20 Corrosion of the steel

and O2 into the concrete, no reinforcement and
corrosion and no damage to cracking and/or spalling
concrete of concrete
Degree of Corrosion

Initiation Propagation
(corrosion)

Critical chloride
threshold

Time
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THE FUTURE

Corrosion mechanism of
steel

Corrosion Mechanisms Can be Minimized By

Avoiding Microgalvanic Cell Formation Present
in Conventional and Micro-Alloyed Steels

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THE FUTURE

MMFX is not a stainless steel

but Step 1 of its production
adds chromium and reduces
the carbon content.
Benefits of adding chromium
to reduce the steels
corrosion rate.

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THE FUTURE

1 Untransformed Nano
The Second Step to Sheets of Austenite
Achieving MMFX approach to altering
Microstructure the micro-structure of the
2 steel: Produce a
Steel 1
2 Microcomposite Steel that
Eliminates Formation of
1 2 Microstructural Galvanic
1 Cells
2
Prior
Austenite 1

Grain 1 2
Boundary
2
~0.1m Dislocated
Laths
(Martensite)

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THE FUTURE

Low High Chloride

Reinforcement Propagation
Cost Cost Threshold
Type (years)
installation installation (lb/yd3)

Black Steel $0.38 $0.53 1 6

Epoxy Coated Steel $0.50 $0.66 1 20
Stainless Steel $2.75 $2.91 20 12
MMFX 2 Steel (4 X) $0.70 $0.85 4 12
MMFX 2 Steel (6 X) $0.70 $0.85 6 12

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THE FUTURE

Reinforcement Type Installation Initial Time to Time to Total Life

Cost Cost Initiation First Cycle
($/ft2) (Years) Repair Cost
(Years) ($/ft2)

MMFX 2 Steel (4 X) HIGH $15.01 90 >100 $15.01

MMFX 2 Steel (6 X) HIGH $15.01 >100 >100 $15.01
Epoxy Coated Steel HIGH $14.93 44 64 $19.02
Black Steel HIGH $14.42 44 50 $21.31
Stainless Steel HIGH $23.75 >100 >100 $23.75

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THE FUTURE

Self Consolidating concrete is

an extremely cohesive and
flowable material capable of
being placed without
vibration. It can be placed
very fast at a very dramatic
reduction in noise.

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THE FUTURE

The cohesion of the fresh

concrete and no negative
effects from vibration will
result in a more
homogeneous surface layer.
This reduces permeability,
increases resistance to
chloride ingress, carbonation
and other chemical attack

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THE FUTURE

Another development has been

the use of precast deck panels.
Used as stay-in-place forms,
the panels reduce labor for
field placement of reinforcing
steel and concrete for bridge
decks, resulting in considerable
savings. The panels become
composite with the field-
placed concrete for live loads.
Theyre made of high-quality,
plant-produced concrete and
contain the primary tensile
reinforcement between beams.
They remain crack-free,
protecting this important
reinforcing steel.

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THE FUTURE

Full-depth precast deck

panels promise to provide the
solution for extended closings
due to deck replacement.
The technique applies to new
construction as well. Precast
highway paving panels are
being demonstrated in Texas
to speed lane widenings and
reduce traffic closures and
detours. Refined materials
and methods are making
these solution an exciting
new part of the designers
tool box.

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THE FUTURE

Another innovation is the

development of horizontally
curved precast concrete
bridges which is creating
exciting new options in
contemporary bridge designs.
This technique involves post-
tensioning precast elements
together in the plants before
shipment or in the field
after erection.

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THE FUTURE

Spliced girders give

Prestressed concrete
girders the ability to
reach further and
longer

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THE FUTURE

And yet another solution for

curved structures is
segmental construction.
Working together with the
American Segmental Bridge
Institute (ASBI) and the
AASHTO Bridge
Subcommittee, PCI has
endorsed a family of standard
shapes for segmental bridges
that is intended to reduce
the cost of segmental bridges
for smaller structures such as
urban grade separations.

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THE FUTURE

Prestressed concrete got its

start as the original
composite material and
further developments by the
industry and its suppliers
have continued to refine the
performance of the product
for the bridge market.

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THE FUTURE

Today, it still gives the public

extremely good value for its
money. The reputation of
the precast prestressed
concrete industry has been
built on the strength,
imagination, consistency and
integrity of its people and
products alike. In the future,
it will continue to be the
solution of choice.

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Thank You for
Your Attention

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