| A research study was conducted at South Dakota State University (SDSU) to evaluate the feasibility and performance of self-consolidating concrete (SCC) using limestone aggregates for prestressed girder applications. To fulfill the objective of this research, three full-scale prestressed girders were fabricated and tested to evaluate transfer length, prestress losses, camber, flexural behavior and strength, flexural rigidity, and shear strength. Two of the girders were cast with SCC and one was cast with conventional concrete to serve as a control specimen. Each girder was fitted with a composite slab to model a bridge deck. Design of the girders included instrumentation capable of measuring instantaneous and time-dependent structural responses.;The control girder and one of the SCC girders were tested in flexure under monotonic increasing load testing until failure. The remaining SCC girder was loaded to failure by incrementally increasing cyclic load testing. During load testing, strain data was collected to monitor response in both flexure and shear. Data was analyzed and used to evaluate the performance of SCC in prestressed bridge girders.;This research included a literature review, design and instrumentation of full-scale test specimens, fabrication of test specimens, load testing each girder to failure, and an evaluation of the structural performance of SCC in comparison to that of conventional concrete for use in prestressed bridge girders.;Transfer length, prestress losses, camber, flexural strength, flexural rigidity, and shear strength were determined using code provisions and analytical methods for conventional prestressed concrete girders. The girders cast with SCC performed at least as well as that cast with conventional concrete with regards to transfer length, flexural capacity, and shear capacity. Cyclic testing showed that the pre-cracking effective stiffness reduces slightly with an increase in applied load. The results indicate that SCC can be used for production of prestressed concrete bridge girders following the same design provisions used for the design of conventional concrete prestressed girders. |
