Microstructure based life-cycle assessment and durability design of concrete bridges

Author(s): Koichi Maekawa, Benny Suryanto, Chikako Fujiyama and Nobuhiro Chijiwa
Paper category: conference
Book title: Microstructural-related Durability of Cementitious Composites
Editor(s): Guang Ye, K. van Breugel, Wei Sun and Changwen Miao
Print ISBN: 978-2-35158-129-2
e-ISBN: 978-2-35158-123-0
Publisher: RILEM Publications SARL
Publication year: 2012
Pages: 20 - 28
Total Pages: 9
Language: English

Abstract: Moisture and cracks are the two scourges of structural concrete, and understanding the interactions between the two is the key to determine long-term durability performances. This paper firstly deals with moisture migration and its volume change with creep in four inservice PC bridge viaducts that are experiencing excessive deflections by using a-3D integrated micro-material-structural modeling. It is found that moisture-migration related deflections driven by the capillary surface tension and disjoining pressures in micro pores account for 25 to 45% of the macroscopic deflections. These apparent kinematics can be approximated by adding the moisture-related time-dependent deflections to the mechanisticinduced creep by external loads. This paper then deals with water-crack interaction in RC bridge decks under moving loads. It is found that the water presence on the upper deck parts, when subjected to high-speed traffics, can shorten the deck fatigue life by one-and-a-half order of life-span. This reduction in life is due to high water pressure developing over a large numbers of wheel passages as well as the reduced shear transfer along crack planes.

Online publication: 2012-07-05
Publication Type: full_text
Public price (Euros): 0.00