Reliability analysis of a reinforced concrete deck slab supported on steel girders

The objective of this dissertation is to develop a reliability-based procedure to assess the serviceability of a reinforced concrete bridge deck that can serve as a decision-making tool regarding repair, rehabilitation or replacement. At the present, there is no such an assessment method available. Therefore, in this dissertation, a procedure for bridge decks evaluation is developed, that is focused on reinforced concrete slab-on-girders bridges with girder spacing up to 10 FT, designed according to the strip method and empirical method, specified by the AASHTO LRFD code (2005).; This research involves the field testing of a bridge deck, the finite element modeling of a reinforced concrete bridge superstructure, as well as the reliability analysis of bridge decks at serviceability limit state. The field tests were carried out on a steel girder bridge, with girders spaced at 10 FT. The results were eventually used to calibrate the FE program. A non-linear finite element model for reinforced concrete as well as corresponding material models were also developed using the commercial software ABAQUS. The developed model was calibrated and verified by comparing results with several available experimental data as well as results from field testing of a bridge deck.; After the FE program was refined, a reliability analysis was carried out. Two limit states were considered, cracking and crack opening of concrete. Load parameters were calculated from live load data obtained from the previous studies by Nowak and Kim (1997). Resistance parameters were formulated using the Rosenblueth's 2K + 1 point estimate method combined with FE calculations. The computed resistance parameters were then applied along with live load parameters to obtain reliability indices. Finally, serviceability of bridge decks was assessed by comparing the calculated reliability indices of all investigated bridge deck configurations.; Based on the findings, the proposed FE material models along with the finite element modeling method can effectively predict the behavior of bridge deck at the serviceability level. In addition, the proposed reliability analysis procedure is efficient for evaluation of reinforced concrete deck slab at serviceability limit states.