EXPERIMENTAL STUDY OF PREFABRICATED BRIDGE SYSTEMS IN MOT

Prefabricated bridge technology is being investigated by the Ministry of Transportation of Ontario (MTO) as an innovative approach to bridge construction and rehabilitation that can potentially yield substantial economic benefits. The Bridge Office of MTO recently initiated a project to investigate the feasibility of constructing/rehabilitating bridges using prefabricated beam elements. Two potential prefabricated bridge systems were investigated: (a) prefabricated composite slab-on-girder beam elements connected together with cast-in-place concrete closure strips, and (b) full-depth prefabricated concrete deck slab panels laid across new or existing girders and connected together with cast-in-place concrete closure segments. This paper presents the findings of a series of laboratory tests that were performed on four scale models to study: (i) the overall structural behaviour of the bridge systems under service loads, (ii) the long-term load effect on the longitudinal cold joints, and (iii) the ultimate punching load capacity of the concrete deck. The test models include three single-span and one two-span prefabricated bridge models. The single-span test specimens were subjected to 7 million load cycles, after which ultimate strength tests were carried out on the deck slabs. The two-span model was subjected to over 17 million load cycles before ultimate punching load tests were carried out. Overall, the test results demonstrated excellent performance and integrity of the prefabricated bridge systems.

• INTRODUCTION

• PREFABRICATED BRIDGE DECK MODELS

• CYCLIC LOAD TESTS

• ULTIMATE LOAD TESTS

• CYCLIC LOAD TESTS RESULTS

• ULTIMATE LOAD TESTS RESULTS

• CONCLUSIONS

• REFERENCES