Behaviour of precast concrete deck slabs with transverse confining systems

The enhanced loading capacity of transversely confined concrete deck slabs has been demonstrated through different studies, but the available transverse confining systems used in conjunction with cast in situ concrete deck slabs are not conducive to deconstruction. This paper presents the results of an experimental study on precast slabs attached to girders using bolted shear connectors. Ten half-scale precast slabs are tested under a monotonically increasing force applied at the mid-span. The configuration and proportion of the reinforcing steel bars and types of transverse confining system (cross-bracings or ties) are the main test variables. The experimental results demonstrate the efficiency of the proposed system for mobilising arching action in the precast concrete deck slabs. Also, it is shown that the location of reinforcing bars in single-span concrete slabs with transverse confinement can significantly influence the load capacity and ductility, but the top reinforcing steel bars have negligible influence on the peak load and ductility. In addition, detailed finite-element models of the specimens are developed and verified against test results and it is shown that the adopted finite-element models can adequately capture the local and global response of the transversely confined deconstructable precast concrete deck slabs.