FACTORS AFFECTING THE DURABILITY OF CONCRETE BRIDGE DECKS. CONSTRUCTION PRACTICES

With the objective of determining factors which contribute to deck cracking, the concrete placement for twenty eight bridge decks was closely monitored and several crack surveys were made on them during the subsequent eight years. Placement variables included 4 types of finishing machines, 2 types of hand finishing equipment, different timing of final finishing operations, different slumps, different timing of cure application and 3 methods of curing. Weather variables and concrete placement anomalies were meticulously recorded during each deck placement. Due to construction schedules, approach fills were not placed until the decks were over two years old, thus traffic also became a variable. The effects of planned and unplanned variables are discussed. The most consistent cause of large deck cracks (greater than 0.005 inches in width) are improper repair of concrete disturbed after strike off and hot, windy weather. Small cracking could not be eliminated but could be controlled to some degree by the finishing and curing methods.

• Supplemental Notes:
  • See also PB-220 113.
• Corporate Authors:

  California Department of Transportation

  1120 N Street
  Sacramento, CA  United States  95814

  Federal Highway Administration

  1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
  Washington, DC  United States  20590
• Authors:
  • Horn, M W
  • STEWART, C F
  • Boulware, R L
• Publication Date: 1975-3

Media Info

• Pagination: 142 p.

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Bridge decks; Concrete; Concrete construction; Concrete curing; Concrete finishing; Construction management; Curing agents; Durability; Equipment; Fills; Fracture mechanics; Repairing; Scheduling; Surveys; Traffic
• Uncontrolled Terms: Repairs
• Geographic Terms: California
• Subject Areas: Construction; Highways; Operations and Traffic Management;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00136890
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: National Technical Information Service
• Report/Paper Numbers: CA-DOT-ST-41014753 Intrm Rpt.
• Files: NTIS, TRIS, USDOT, STATEDOT
• Created Date: Jul 22 1976 12:00AM