U.S. Department of Transportation
Federal Highway Administration
1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
Washington, DC 20590
202-366-4000


Skip to content
Facebook iconYouTube iconTwitter iconFlickr iconLinkedInInstagram

FHWA Home / Highways for LIFE / Technology Partnerships / Bridge Technology / The Implementation of Full Depth UHPC Waffle Bridge Deck Panels Final Report May 2013

The Implementation of Full Depth UHPC Waffle Bridge Deck Panels Final Report May 2013

TABLE OF CONTENTS

  1. Introduction
  2. Work Completed In Phase 1
  3. Work Completed In Phase 2
  4. Life Cycle Cost Analysis
  5. References

Appendix: Plans for Little Cedar Creek Bridge, Wapello County, IA

List of Figures
Figure 1. Diagram. Shop drawing of prototype panel
Figure 2. Photo. Prototype panel form setup
Figure 3. Photo. Casting.
Figure 4. Photo. Placing the voids as they are lowered into position
Figure 5. Photo. Formwork removed
Figure 6. Photo. Completed prototype panels
Figure 7. Photo. SRV testing setup
Figure 8. Diagram. Final panel dimensions
Figure 9. Diagram. Final panel reinforcing
Figure 10. Photo. Casting bed and side forms
Figure 11. Photo. Void form
Figure 12. Photo. Flow table
Figure 13. Graph. Time vs. temperature
Figure 14. Photo. Initial form setup
Figure 15. Photo. Placing UHPC
Figure 16. Photo. UHPC placed to correct level
Figure 17. Photo. Placing the voids
Figure 18. Photo. Formwork removed (panel upside down)
Figure 19. Photo. Lifting the panel to vertical
Figure 20. Photo. Panel rotated back to horizontal (panel right side up)
Figure 21. Diagram. Plan of the demonstration bridge
Figure 22. Diagram. Cross section of the demonstration bridge
Figure 23. Photo. Setting the deck panels
Figure 24. Photo. Close view of the deck panels
Figure 25. Photo. Portable mixers for batching joint fill UHPC
Figure 26. Photo. Transverse joint casting
Figure 27. Photo. Completed demonstration bridge
Figure 28. Diagram. Locations of monitored panels
Figure 29. Equation. LCCA formula
Figure 30. Diagram. Bridge plans, page 1
Figure 31. Diagram. Bridge plans, page 2
Figure 32. Diagram. Bridge plans, page 3
Figure 33. Diagram. Bridge plans, page 4
Figure 34. Diagram. Bridge plans, page 5
Figure 35. Diagram. Bridge plans, page 6
Figure 36. Diagram. Bridge plans, page 7
Figure 37. Diagram. Bridge plans, page 8
Figure 38. Diagram. Bridge plans, page 9
Figure 39. Diagram. Bridge plans, page 10
Figure 40. Diagram. Bridge plans, page 11
Figure 41. Diagram. Bridge plans, page 12
Figure 42. Diagram. Bridge plans, page 13
Figure 43. Diagram. Bridge plans, page 14
Figure 44. Diagram. Bridge plans, page 15
Figure 45. Diagram. Bridge plans, page 16
Figure 46. Diagram. Bridge plans, page 17
Figure 47. Diagram. Bridge plans, page 18
Figure 48. Diagram. Bridge plans, page 19
Figure 49. Diagram. Bridge plans, page 20
Figure 50. Diagram. Bridge plans, page 21
Figure 51. Diagram. Bridge plans, page 22
List of Tables
Table 1. Structural test protocols and sequence.
Table 2. Sand patch test results.
Table 3. Skid resistance test results.
Table 4. User costs for the demonstration bridge and the CIP bridge.
Table 5. LCCA summary: demonstration bridge.
Table 6. LCCA summary: CIP bridge
List of Acronyms and Abbreviations
AASHTO American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials
BPN British Pendulum Number
BPT British Pendulum Tester
CIP Cast-in-Place
DOT Department of Transportation
EDC Every Day Counts
FHWA Federal Highway Administration
LCCA Life Cycle Cost Analysis
LRFD Load Cycle Cost Analysis
PPE Personal Protective Equipment
SRV Skid Resistance Value
TRRL Transport and Road Research Laboratory
UHPC Ultra High Performance Concrete

Notice

This document is disseminated under the sponsorship of the U.S. Department of Transportation in the interest of information exchange. The U.S. Government assumes no liability for its contents or use thereof. This report does not constitute a standard, specification, or regulation.

The U.S. Government does not endorse products or manufacturers. Trade and manufacturers' names appear in this report only because they are considered essential to the object of the document.

Quality Assurance Statement

The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) provides high-quality information to serve Government, industry, and the public in a manner that promotes public understanding. Standards and policies are used to ensure and maximize the quality, objectivity, utility, and integrity of its information. FHWA periodically reviews quality issues and adjusts its programs and processes to ensure continuous quality improvement.

1. Report No.

FHWA-HIF-13-031

2. Government Accession No. 3. Recipient's Catalog No.
4. Title and Subtitle
The Implementation of Full Depth UHPC Waffle Bridge Deck Panels: Final Report
5. Report Date
May 2013
6. Performing Organization Code
7. Author(s)
John Heimann
8. Performing Organization Report No.
9. Performing Organization Name and Address
Coreslab Structures (Omaha), Inc.
802 Allied Rd.
Bellevue, NE 68123
10. Work Unit No.(TRAIS)
11. Contract or Grant No.
DTFH61-09-G-00006
12. Sponsoring Agency Name and Address
Office of Infrastructure
Federal Highway Administration
Highways for LIFE Program – HIHL-1
1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
Washington, D.C. 20590

13. Type of Report and Period Covered

Final Report, 6/15/2009 – 1/31/2013

14. Sponsoring Agency Code
15. Supplementary Notes
16. Abstract

In the U.S. today, there are over 160,000 bridges that are structurally deficient or obsolete, and more than 3,000 new bridges are added each year. Federal, State, and municipal bridge engineers are seeking new ways to build better bridges, reduce travel times, and improve repair techniques, thereby reducing maintenance. Additionally, owners are challenged with replacing critical bridge components, particularly bridge decks, during limited or overnight road closure periods.

State and Federal agencies are gaining significant interest in using full depth ultra high performance concrete (UHPC) waffle deck panels as a possible solution to these challenges. The first implementation of UHPC deck panels on a U.S. roadway was made possible through a grant from the Federal Highway Administration’s Highways for LIFE program. The objective of this research is to confirm that this system is a viable solution to the problems encountered by design engineers. It is hoped that the full depth UHPC bridge deck system will revolutionize the way bridges are designed in North America.

This project was divided into two phases. Phase 1 included the design and testing of a mock-up bridge section for verifying design assumptions, as well as for evaluating the feasibility of manufacturing and installing the deck elements. Phase 2 consisted of the construction of a full scale two-lane bridge on a secondary road in Wapello County, Iowa, using prestressed concrete girders and 14 UHPC deck panels.

17. Key Words
UHPC, Waffle Slab, Bridge Deck, Highways for LIFE
18. Distribution Statement

No restrictions. This document is available to the public through the National Technical Information Service, Springfield, VA 22161.

19. Security Classif. (of this page)
Unclassified

20. No. of Pages
Unclassified

21. No. of Pages
66
22. Price

FORM DOT F 1700.7 (8-72) REPRODUCTION OF COMPLETED PAGE AUTHORIZED.

SI* (Modern Metric) Conversion Factors
APPROXIMATE CONVERSIONS TO SI UNITS APPROXIMATE CONVERSIONS FROM SI UNITS
Symbol When You Know Multiply By To Find Symbol Symbol When You Know Multiply By To Find Symbol
LENGTH LENGTH
in inches 25.4 millimeters mm mm millimeters 0.039 inches in
ft feet 0.305 meters m m meters 3.28 feet ft
yd yards 0.914 meters m m meters 1.09 yards yd
mi miles 1.61 kilometers km km kilometers 0.621 miles mi
AREA AREA
in2 square inches 645.2 square millimeters mm2 mm2 square millimeters 0.0016 square inches in2
ft2 square feet 0.093 square meters m2 m2 square meters 10.764 square feet ft2
yd2 square yards 0.836 square meters m2 m2 square meters 1.195 square yards yd2
ac acres 0.405 hectares ha ha hectares 2.47 acres ac2
mi2 square miles 2.59 square kilometers km2 km2 square kilometers 0.386 square miles mi2
VOLUME VOLUME
fl oz fluid ounces 29.57 milliliters ml mL milliliters 0.034 fluid ounces fl oz
gal gallons 3.785 liters L L liters 0.264 gallons gal
ft3 cubic feet 0.028 cubic meters m3 m3 cubic meters 35.314 cubic feet ft3
yd3 cubic yards 0.765 cubic meters m3 m3 cubic meters 1.307 cubic yard yd3
NOTE: Volumes greater than 1000 l shall be shown in m3
MASS MASS
oz ounces 28.35 grams g g grams 0.035 ounces oz
lb pounds 0.454 kilograms kg kg kilograms 2.202 pounds lb
T short tons
(2000 lb)
0.907 megagrams Mg Mg (or "t") megagrams
(or "metric ton")
1.103 short tons (2000 lb) T
TEMPERATURE (exact degrees) TEMPERATURE (exact degrees)
°F Fahrenheit 5(F–32)/9 or (F–32)/1.8 Celcius °C °C Celsius 1.8C +32 Fahrenheit °F
ILLUMINATION ILLUMINATION
fc foot–candles 10.76 lux lx lx lux 0.0929 foot–candles fc
fl foot–Lamberts 3.426 candela/m2 cd/m2 cd/m2 candela/m2 0.2919 foot–Lamberts fl
FORCE and PRESSURE or STRESS FORCE and PRESSURE or STRESS
lbf pounds 4.45 newtons N N newtons 0.225 poundforce lbf
lbf/in2 pound per square inch 6.89 kilopascals kPa kPa kilopascals 0.145 poundforce per square inch lbf/in2

*SI is the symbol for the International System of Units. Appropriate rounding should be made to comply with Section 4 of ASTM E380. (Revised March 2003)

Page last modified on June 23, 2016
Federal Highway Administration | 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE | Washington, DC 20590 | 202-366-4000