Title : LONG-TERM MONITORING OF A VERY-HIGH PERFORMANCE FIBER REINFORCED CONCRETE BRIDGE - A CASE STUDY
Authors : Gian Luca Guerrini, Luigi Biolzi, Sara Cattaneo
Publication : 7, October 2015
Volume :
Pages :
Price : 250
Abstract : Long-term durability of reinforced concrete structures is today a major concern for both environmental and economic reasons. The issue of mix design with respect to durability seems particularly relevant to develop lifetime-oriented design. Service life prediction of reinforced concrete structures has to take into account both the long lifetime required and the possible combinations of actions and environmental attack. In this context, it is very important in construction practice to introduce new materials improving the poor properties of traditional ones. A high/very high-performance concrete (VHPC) meets special combinations of performance and uniformity requirements that cannot always be routinely achieved using conventional constituents and normal mixing, placing, and curing practices. In 1999, very high performance fiber-reinforced prestressed concrete beams (with steel fibers and microsilica addition) were used for the construction of a small road bridge. This project represented the first application in Italy - a case study for VHPC. In this paper, the results of the inspection of the bridge deck after 10 years, together with the results of laboratory tests on specimens naturally aged (10, 16 years) are presented.