Date of Award
5-2023
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Civil Engineering (MCE)
Department
Civil Engineering
Committee Chair/Advisor
Brandon Ross
Committee Member
Thomas Cousins
Committee Member
Michael Stoner
Abstract
This thesis discusses flexural and cyclic load testing of two potential retrofits for pre-cast slab bridges. These slabs came from South Carolina Department of Transportation (SCDOT) decommissioned bridges as a part of an ongoing project with SCDOT. The first is a Carbon Fiber Reinforced Plate (CFRP) retrofit where four CFRP plates were adhesively bonded to the bottom of a slab. The second is a steel plate that was mechanically attached to the bottom of a slab using bolted connections. The bolts were cast into grouted holes in the slab. To better understand the failure mode of these retrofits and their viability as a retrofit option, several tests were conducted on each. First, to better understand baseline behavior of each, several unstrengthened slabs were tested to failure. Then, a cyclic test was done to a million cycles at service load and a post cyclic flexural strength test was conducted. For the CFRP slab only, after the failure of the CFRP, the strips were removed and then the slab loaded to failure again. The CFRP retrofit exhibited a flexural strength increase of 21% over baseline slab. The steel plate exhibited a 21% increase in flexural strength over the average baseline slab. Neither retrofit experienced significant deterioration as a result of cyclic loading. The CFRP slab had a displacement ductility that was 44% of the baseline slabs, while the steel retrofit maintained similar ductility to the average baseline. The residual strength of the CFRP (after CFRP was removed) was still greater than the calculated strength of the slab.
Recommended Citation
Stewart, Ian, "Fatigue Performance of Flexural Retrofits for Precast Slab Bridges" (2023). All Theses. 4022.
https://open.clemson.edu/all_theses/4022