High performance concrete in bridge applications

South Dakota State University (SDSU) and the South Dakota Department of Transportation (SDDOT) began research into the feasibility and performance of using high performance concrete in bridge applications for projects in South Dakota. The two topics covered in this research are self-consolidating concrete (SCC) made with limestone coarse aggregates for use in prestressed bridge girders and low cracking-high performance concrete (LC-HPC) used in bridge decks to control bridge deck cracking.;Prestressed bridge girders made with SCC have been selected as part of the research for SDDOT Project SD2007-04, "Structural Performance of Prestressed Self-Consolidating Concrete Made with Limestone Aggregates" (SD 2007). The objectives of this project, covered in this paper, are to develop and test SCC mix designs using local western South Dakota aggregates (limestone) in a laboratory setting. Included in the research is: a literature research, SCC mix development using limestone aggregates, aggregate testing, SCC fresh property testing, SCC hardened property testing, and the development of SCC draft specifications, guidelines, and acceptance criteria in coordination with the SDDOT and members of the prestressing industry.;Three SCC mixes were designed with varying water to cement ratios (w/c) and with different curing methods. The w/c ratios studied were 0.33, 0.35, and 0.37. All three SCC mixes were moist cured. The control mix was also heat cured to investigate the effects of curing conditions on the hardened properties of SCC.;The fresh property tests were performed on SCC to evaluate the characteristics of filling ability, passing ability, and static and dynamic stability. Stable SCC mixes were produced using South Dakota limestone aggregate. The hardened property tests were performed on SCC to evaluate the compressive strength, flexural strength, modulus of elasticity, segregation, and shrinkage. As the w/c ratio increased, SCC compressive strength, flexural strength, and modulus of elasticity decreased. As the w/c ratio increased, the shrinkage of SCC increased.;Low Cracking-High Performance Concrete (LC-HPC) is a specially proportioned concrete that can be used in bridge decks to potentially help control the amount of bridge deck cracking. The objective of this research is to evaluate the draft specifications for LC-HPC for bridge decks, being developed as part of the pooled fund TPF-5(051), "Construction of Crack-Free Concrete Bridge Decks".;A pair of new, prestressed girder bridges has been selected for this research. One bridge had a deck placed using LC-HPC (SDDOT A45 LC-HPC deck concrete mix) specifications while the other was a control bridge with the deck placed using existing (SDDOT A45 deck concrete mix) specifications. The performance of the bridge decks will be assessed by measuring and comparing crack intensities in the bridge decks. Crack intensities also were determined for six existing bridges without LC-HPC bridge decks. The existing bridges are of varying age, support type, and bridge deck types. For the six additional bridges, two bridge decks were placed using the old SDDOT mix design without flyash, two were placed with the SDDOT recent mix design with flyash, and two were placed with the SDDOT recent mix design with flyash and optimized aggregate.;LC-HPC bridge decks had significantly less early cracking. Bridge deck cracking increased with time. Bridge decks supported by prestressed girders had more cracking than bridge decks supported by steel girders. Bridge decks typically had high crack intensities in the negative moment regions and interior spans.