Title: Durability evaluations of bridge deck high-performance concrete

Authors: Indrajit Ray; Dayong Fan; Julio F. Davalos; Arkamitra Kar

Addresses: Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV 26506-6103, USA. ' Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV 26506-6103, USA. ' Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV 26506-6103, USA. ' Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV 26506-6103, USA

Abstract: Although several information are available on various aspects of durability of high-performance concrete (HPC), no systematic information is available on durability of HPC used for bridge decks. In this study, 12 HPC mixtures were prepared with different combinations of fly ash, slag, and silica fume with three different w/cm ratios: 0.40, 0.35, 0.30 to study the durability primarily concerning bridge deck. Results show that at higher w/cm ratio, both rapid chloride penetration and chloride diffusion depend mostly on supplementary cementitious materials. A combined freezing and thawing/salt-scaling test for a properly made test specimen is representative of real-life situation for bridge deck slab. The physical sulphate attack is minimal for HPC with low w/cm ratios. The present experimental study serves to establish a basis for the future optimisation of HPC mixture proportions as well as test methods through critical durability evaluations.

Keywords: bridge decks; chloride permeability; durability evaluation; freezing; thawing; high-performance concrete; HPC; scaling; concrete durability; fly ash; slag; silica fume; chloride penetration; chloride diffusion; sulphate attack; mixture proportions.

DOI: 10.1504/IJSTRUCTE.2013.050763

International Journal of Structural Engineering, 2013 Vol.4 No.1/2, pp.35 - 62

Published online: 28 Jun 2014 *

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