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Study of Drying Shrinkage Mitigating Concrete Using Scaled Bridge Bays

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Abstract

Cracks reduce the durability and service life of bridge decks and they usually form as a result of tension induced from restrained shrinkage of concrete. There are several mixture design technologies that can be used to reduce concrete shrinkage and subsequent cracking. The main focus of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of three such technologies to limit restrained shrinkage cracking in a scaled laboratory bridge deck. The first mixture evaluated shrinkage compensating cement (Type-K) as a partial replacement of Portland cement, the second mixture evaluated pre-wetted lightweight fine aggregate as a partial replacement of fine aggregate to promote internal curing (IC), and finally, the third evaluated a mixture incorporating shrinkage reducing admixture (SRA). Strain of the deck reinforcement was monitored during and after placement of the concrete for a period of 6 months. All of the data was compared with similar measurements from a control deck containing a standard concrete mixture used by the Illinois Department of Transportation. The results showed that, the experimental deck containing Type-K cement exhibited around 100% higher expansion compared to control mixture during the curing period. The IC mixture showed approximately 50% less expansion at 7 days but exhibited 10% less shrinkage at the end of drying period compared to the control mixture. The initial expansion of SRA mixture showed similar peak value compared to control mixture but at the end of the drying period, the shrinkage of SRA mixture was around 75% less than the deck cast with control mixture.

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Availability of data and material

All the materials used in this project have been acquired and used in the analysis of the results based on the funding provided by Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT).

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Acknowledgements

The authors appreciate the assistance of Dr. Paramita Mondal, UIUC; MD Ashiquzzaman, Nick Duong, Martin Fiedler, Darren Green, Faress Hraib, Li Hui and Mehdi Motaleb, Ann Scales, SLU, for their help and contribution throughout this research. The opinions and findings of this paper are those of the authors.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Parks College of Engineering, Aviation and Technology, Civil Engineering Program, Saint Louis University, Saint Louis, MO, 63103, USA

    Mohammad Rahman, Ying Chen & Riyadh Hindi

  2. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Idaho, Moscow, ID, 83844, USA

    Ahmed Ibrahim

  3. William Jewell College, Liberty, MO, 64068, USA

    Will Lindquist

  4. Illinois Department of Transportation, Bureau of Materials and Physical Research, Springfield, IL, 62704, USA

    Daniel Tobias & James Krstulovich

  5. Department of Civil Engineering, University of Burgos, Burgos, Spain

    Dorys González

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  1. Mohammad Rahman
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  2. Ying Chen
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  3. Ahmed Ibrahim
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  4. Will Lindquist
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All the listed authors have contributed to the content and the analysis of the results of the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Ahmed Ibrahim.

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Rahman, M., Chen, Y., Ibrahim, A. et al. Study of Drying Shrinkage Mitigating Concrete Using Scaled Bridge Bays. Int J Civ Eng 18, 65–73 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40999-019-00460-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40999-019-00460-z

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