Bridges with Premature Concrete Deterioration: Damage Indices, Strand-Pullout Tests, and Field Observations

This thesis describes part of the work associated with TxDOT Study 1857 (“Structural Assessment of In-Service Bridges With Premature Concrete Deterioration”). The primary objective of this thesis is to determine the effects of premature concrete deterioration on the bond between prestressing strands and concrete, using damage indices and strand-pullout tests. Sixty-four strand-pullout tests were performed on sixty strands from four laboratory specimens taken from full-size precast concrete box girders. The field observation program, begun earlier in this study, of five large TxDOT structures in different parts of Texas was continued for two additional years. Recommendations are made for addressing deterioration in the FM 1929 structure over the Lake Ivie Reservoir in Concho, Texas. Results from the laboratory tests and the field program are used to relate external damage to reductions in structural capacity of in-service structures with premature concrete deterioration.