BRIDGE DECK STUDY

RESULTS ARE PRESENTED OF A STUDY MADE IN SOUTH DAKOTA TO DETERMINE IF ANY OF THE BRIDGE DECK FINISHING MACHINES DISPLAY SIGNIFICANT SUPERIORITY OVER OTHER MACHINES OR METHODS OF DECK FINISHING. AN EVALUATION OF BRIDGE DECKS CONSTRUCTED WITH THREE DIFFERENT COMMERCIALLY AVAILABLE FINISHING MACHINES AND TWO CONTRACTOR BUILT MACHINES WAS MADE ON A TOTAL OF 47 BRIDGES. CLOSE FIELD OBSERVATION WAS MADE OF DECK POURING OPERATIONS WITH PHOTOGRAPHIC COVERAGE AND NOTES KEPT ON FIELD TESTS, POURING AND FINISHING PROCEDURES, FALSEWORK, IF ANY, AND CURE METHODS. THIS OBSERVATION WAS FOLLOWED BY RATING OF THE FINISHED SURFACES WITH RESPECT TO SMOOTHNESS SPECIFICATIONS, TEXTURE AND UNIFORMITY OF APPEARANCE. IT WAS CONCLUDED THAT THERE WAS NO SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE ABILITY OF EITHER A MECHANICAL BULL FLOAT FINISHER OR A PROPERLY DESIGNED SCREED TYPE FINISHER TO PRODUCE A HIGH QUALITY DECK SURFACE. CONTINUOUS COMPOSITE I-BEAM OR GIRDER BRIDGES SHOW A VERY SLIGHT SUPERIORITY OVER CONTINUOUS CONCRETE BRIDGES. PRESTRESSED CONCRETE BEAM BRIDGES RATED HIGHLY BUT WITH DOUBTFUL VALIDITY BECAUSE OF A SMALL NUMBER OF RATINGS. BRIDGES BETWEEN 200 AND 300 FEET LONG PRODUCED THE HIGHEST RATINGS WITH THOSE UNDER 100 FEET AND OVER 300 FEET YIELDING THE LOWEST RATINGS. SINGLE POUR DECKS RATED HIGHER THAN MULTIPLE POUR SURFACES. AIR TEMPERATURE DURING POURING OPERATIONS WAS NOT DETERMINED TO BE A MAJOR INFLUENCE UPON THE QUALITY OF FINISHING. THE CONTRACTOR WAS DETERMINED TO BE THE LARGEST SINGLE FACTOR IN THE QUALITY OF DECK FINISHING.

• Supplemental Notes:
  • Final Rept, PP 1-27, 10 FIG, 3 TAB
• Corporate Authors:

  South Dakota Department of Transportation

  700 East Broadway Avenue
  Pierre, SD  United States  57501
• Publication Date: 1966

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Beams; Bridge decks; Concrete curing; Concrete finishing; Contractors; Evaluation; Field tests; Girder bridges; I beams; Machines; Methodology; Pavements; Photography; Pouring; Prestressed concrete; Prestressing; Screeds; Smoothness; Surface course (Pavements); Temperature; Texture
• Old TRIS Terms: Pavement smoothness
• Subject Areas: Highways; Pavements; Vehicles and Equipment;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00219265
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS, STATEDOT
• Created Date: Aug 23 1994 12:00AM