Development of a Highway Bridge Deck Using Ultra-High Performance Fiber- Reinforced Concrete

In urban expressways, lightweight orthotropic steel decks are widely used. However, fatigue cracks occur in the orthotropic steel deck. To address this problem, we developed a light weight highway- bridge deck with high durability using ultra-high performance fiber-reinforced concrete (UHPFRC). The slab of the UHPFRC deck is 40 mm thick and the rib height is 83 mm. A UHPFRC deck has very thin components as compared with the conventional concrete deck, thus we validated the safety of this thin deck structure using finite element analysis. We also verified its fatigue durability using the wheel running fatigue test. In load conditions twice as high as those accounted for in the original design, several cracks of 0.04 mm or less developed on the side surface of a rib. However, the stiffness of the deck was not compromised. Therefore, we verified the high fatigue durability of the UHPFRC deck and feasibility for its application.