REPORT

This report is an archived publication and may contain dated technical, contact, and link information

Publication Number: FHWA-HRT-13-060 Date: June 2013

Publication Number: FHWA-HRT-13-060
Date: June 2013

Ultra-High Performance Concrete: A State-Of-The-Art Report for The Bridge Community

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FOREWORD

Ultra-high performance concrete (UHPC) is an advanced construction material that affords new opportunities for the future of the highway infrastructure. The Federal Highway Administration has been engaged in research on the optimal uses of UHPC in the highway bridge infrastructure since 2001 through its Bridge of the Future initiative. This report presents the state of the art in UHPC with regard to uses in the highway transportation infrastructure. Compiled from hundreds of references representing research, development, and deployment efforts around the world, this report provides a framework for gaining a deeper understanding of UHPC as well as a platform from which to increase the use of this class of advanced cementitious composite materials. This report will assist stakeholders, including State transportation departments, researchers, and design consultants, to grasp the capabilities of UHPC and thus use the material to address pressing needs in the highway transportation infrastructure.

Jorge Pagán-Ortiz
Director, Office of Infrastructure
Research and Development

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 the use of the information contained in this document.

The U.S. Government does not endorse products or manufacturers. Trademarks or manufacturers’ names appear in this report only because they are considered essential to the objective 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.

Technical Report Documentation Page

1. Report No. FHWA-HRT-13-060	2. Government Accession No.		3 Recipient's Catalog No.
4. Title and Subtitle Ultra-High Performance Concrete: A State-of-the-Art Report for the Bridge Community			5. Report Date June 2013
			6. Performing Organization Code
7. Author(s) Henry G. Russell and Benjamin A. Graybeal			8. Performing Organization Report No.
9. Performing Organization Name and Address Henry G. Russell, Inc. Engineering Consultant 720 Coronet Road Glenview, IL 60025-4457			10. Work Unit No.
			11. Contract or Grant No. DTFH61-10-D-00017
12. Sponsoring Agency Name and Address Office of Infrastructure Research & Development Federal Highway Administration 6300 Georgetown Pike McLean, VA 22101-2296			13. Type of Report and Period Covered Final: 2011-2012
			14. Sponsoring Agency Code HRDI-40
15. Supplementary Notes This report was developed by Henry G. Russell, Inc., under subcontract to Professional Service Industries, Inc., of Herndon, VA, as part of FHWA's "Support Services for the Structures Laboratories" contract. Ben Graybeal (FHWA) provided technical oversight/assistance and drafted portions of the final report.
16. Abstract The term Ultra-High Performance Concrete (UHPC) refers to a relatively new class of advanced cementitious composite materials whose mechanical and durability properties far surpass those of conventional concrete. This class of concrete has been demonstrated to facilitate solutions that address specific problems in the U.S. highway bridge infrastructure. Initial material development research on UHPC began more than two decades ago. First structural deployments began in the late 1990s. First field deployments in the U.S. highway transportation infrastructure began in 2006. For this study, UHPC-class materials are defined as cementitious-based composite materials with discontinuous fiber reinforcement that exhibit compressive strength above 21.7 ksi (150 MPa), pre- and post-cracking tensile strength above 0.72 ksi (5 MPa), and enhanced durability via a discontinuous pore structure. The report documents the state of the art with regard to the research, development, and deployment of UHPC components within the U.S. highway transportation infrastructure. More than 600 technical articles and reports covering research and applications using UHPC have been published in English in the last 20 years, with many more published in other languages. The report includes information about materials and production, mechanical properties, structural design and structural testing, durability and durability testing, and actual and potential applications. The report concludes with recommendations for the future direction for UHPC applications in the United States.
17. Key Words UHPC, ultra-high performance concrete, fiber reinforced concrete, bridges, structural performance, mechanical performance, durability, applications		18. Distribution Statement No restrictions. This document is available through the National Technical Information Service, Springfield, VA 22161.
19. Security Classification (of this report) Unclassified	20. Security Classification (of this page) Unclassified		21. No. of Pages 171	22. Price

Form DOT F 1700.7 (8-72)

Reproduction of completed page authorized

Approximate Conversions to SI Units
Symbol	When You Know	Multiply By	To Find	Symbol
Length
in	inches	25.4	millimeters	mm
ft	feet	0.305	meters	m
yd	yards	0.914	meters	m
mi	miles	1.61	kilometers	km
Area
in²	square inches	645.2	square millimeters	mm²
ft²	square feet	0.093	square meters	m²
yd²	square yard	0.836	square meters	m²
ac	acres	0.405	hectares	ha
mi²	square miles	2.59	square kilometers	km²
Volume
fl oz	fluid ounces	29.57	milliliters	mL
gal	gallons	3.785	liters	L
ft³	cubic feet	0.028	cubic meters	m³
yd³	cubic yards	0.765	cubic meters	m³
NOTE: volumes greater than 1000 L shall be shown in m³
Mass
oz	ounces	28.35	grams	g
lb	pounds	0.454	kilograms	kg
T	short tons (2000 lb)	0.907	megagrams (or "metric ton")	Mg (or "t")
Temperature (exact degrees)
^oF	Fahrenheit	5 (F-32)/9 or (F-32)/1.8	Celsius	^oC
Illumination
fc	foot-candles	10.76	lux	lx
fl	foot-Lamberts	3.426	candela/m²	cd/m²
Force and Pressure or Stress
lbf	poundforce	4.45	newtons	N
lbf/in²	poundforce per square inch	6.89	kilopascals	kPa

Approximate Conversions from SI Units
Symbol	When You Know	Multiply By	To Find	Symbol
Length
mm	millimeters	0.039	inches	in
m	meters	3.28	feet	ft
m	meters	1.09	yards	yd
km	kilometers	0.621	miles	mi
Area
mm²	square millimeters	0.0016	square inches	in²
m²	square meters	10.764	square feet	ft²
m²	square meters	1.195	square yards	yd²
ha	hectares	2.47	acres	ac
km²	square kilometers	0.386	square miles	mi²
Volume
mL	milliliters	0.034	fluid ounces	fl oz
L	liters	0.264	gallons	gal
m³	cubic meters	35.314	cubic feet	ft³
m³	cubic meters	1.307	cubic yards	yd³
Mass
g	grams	0.035	ounces	oz
kg	kilograms	2.202	pounds	lb
Mg (or "t")	megagrams (or "metric ton")	1.103	short tons (2000 lb)	T
Temperature (exact degrees)
^oC	Celsius	1.8C+32	Fahrenheit	^oF
Illumination
lx	lux	0.0929	foot-candles	fc
cd/m²	candela/m²	0.2919	foot-Lamberts	fl
Force and Pressure or Stress
N	newtons	0.225	poundforce	lbf
kPa	kilopascals	0.145	poundforce per square inch	lbf/in²

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1. Equation. Compressive strength gain at any age after casting from Graybeal

Figure 2. Equation. Relationship between curing temperature and initiation of rapid compressive strength gain from Graybeal

Figure 3. Equation. Relationship between time after mix initiation and compressive strength as a function of curing temperature from Graybeal

Figure 4. Graph. Tensile stress-strain response of UHPC

Figure 5. Graph. Idealized uniaxial tensile mechanical response of a UHPC

Figure 6. Equation. Concrete tensile strength approximations

Figure 7. Equation. Graybeal equation for UHPC modulus of elasticity

Figure 8. Equation. Graybeal equation for UHPC modulus of elasticity

Figure 9. Equation. Ma et al. equation for UHPC modulus of elasticity

Figure 10. Photo. Flexural test of an AASHTO Type II girder made of UHPC

Figure 11. Equation. Strength of columns

Figure 12. Equation. Shear strength of UHPC beams

Figure 13. Photo. Mars Hill Bridge, Wapello County, IA

Figure 14. Photo. Route 64 over Cat Point Creek, Richmond County, VA

Figure 15. Photo. Jakway Park Bridge, Buchanan County, IA

Figure 16. Illustration. Cross section of pi-shaped girder 56

Figure 17. Illustration. Cross section showing CIP UHPC connection between precast beams

Figure 18. Photo. Pedestrian bridge, Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada

Figure 19. Photo. Glenmore/Legsby pedestrian bridge, Calgary, Alberta, Canada

Figure 20. Photo. Sakata-Mirai bridge, Sakata, Japan

Figure 21. Photo. Footbridge of Peace, Seoul, South Korea

Figure 22. Photo. Experimental precast pile made of UHPC

LIST OF TABLES

Table 1. Typical composition of Ductal®

Table 2. UHPC mix proportions of CRC by weight

Table 3. UHPC mix proportions from Teichmann and Schmidt

Table 4. UHPC mix proportions of Cor-Tuf by weight

Table 5. UHPC mix proportions for CEMTEC_multiscale

Table 6. Parameters relevant to equation presented in figure 3

Table 7. Values of Poisson's ratio

Table 8. Values of coefficients of thermal expansion

Table 9. Range of UHPC material properties

Table 10. Reinforcement used in connections

Table 11. Measured transfer and development lengths

Table 12. UHPC properties used in finite element modeling

Table 13. Air-void system parameters

Table 14. UHPC applications in North America

Table 15. UHPC applications in Europe

Table 16. UHPC applications in Asia and Australia

Table 17. Other potential applications of UHPC

Page Owner: Office of Research, Development, and Technology, Office of Infrastructure, RDT

Topics: research, infrastructure, structures
Keywords: research, structures, UHPC, ultra-high performance concrete, fiber-reinforced concrete, bridges, structural performance, mechanical performance, durability, applications
TRT Terms: research, infrastructure, Facilities, Structures
Scheduled Update: Archive - No Update needed

This page last modified on 08/05/2013

Ultra-High Performance Concrete: A State-Of-The-Art Report for The Bridge Community

FOREWORD

Table of Contents

LIST OF FIGURES

LIST OF TABLES