Text

theses

Designers have consistently been concerned with long term deformation of bridges to mitigate unfavorable effects such as excessive movement and cracking. Furthermore, any developed tool of use to a designer must make use of parameters known at the time of design as well as be simplistic in nature as defined in the code. As such, many prediction models for the free shrinkage of a concrete specimen have been developed toward this end. However, structures designed and placed in the field experience shrinkage under restraint. Also, the differences in environmental conditions affect the shrinkage of structures. It is important to understand the restrained shrinkage of structures under field conditions and use this understanding to make improved guidelines on shrinkage from a design standpoint. In this study, the prediction and modelling of the free shrinkage of small samples under constant conditions were expanded to the prediction and modelling of restrained shrinkage under field conditions of large samples using finite element analysis. A parametric analysis was then performed to derive useful information from a design perspective such as the impact of various design parameters on the performance of a bridge deck. The findings indicated that the use of reinforcement is the preferable method of addressing shrinkage in bridge decks. Furthermore, the efficacy of the amount of reinforcement specified in the AASHTO guidelines to mitigate excessive cracking in bridge decks was discussed. The traditional and empirical methods of bridge deck design were investigated for shrinkage reinforcement. Finally, recommendations were suggested to the reinforcement requirements based on the findings of this study.

ETD_7313

Ph.D.

Includes bibliographical references

by Anuoluwa Adediji

doi:10.7282/T389180C

ETD doctoral

The author owns the copyright to this work.