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Application of ECC for bridge deck link slabs

Article  in  Materials and Structures · November 2009

DOI: 10.1617/s11527-009-9544-5

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Michael D. Lepech Victor Li

Stanford University University of Michigan
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Materials and Structures
DOI 10.1617/s11527-009-9544-5

ORIGINAL ARTICLE

Application of ECC for bridge deck link slabs

Michael D. Lepech Æ Victor C. Li

Received: 11 July 2007 / Accepted: 11 June 2009

Ó RILEM 2009

Abstract In this article, the application of ECC in a 1 Introduction

bridge deck link slab is described. The unique ultra
high tensile ductility and tight crack width of self- Large scale highway and superhighway infrastruc-
consolidating ECC is exploited in this application to ture remains a backbone of national and international
improve bridge deck constructability, durability, and trade supporting the economies of both highly
sustainability. Design guidelines and material spec- developed and developing nations worldwide. In
ifications were developed for implementation of this 2002 alone, commercial freight transported on the
ECC link slab technology. A construction project United States interstate highway system accounted
implementing these guidelines and specifications was for 8.3 billion metric tons of shipments valued at over
conducted in 2005 on an ECC-concrete bridge deck US$6.6 trillion [1]. Within the European Union,
in southeast Michigan, USA. This article summarizes nearly half (44.2%) of all freight transport move by
the experience of this project. roadway [2]. The growing popularity of the Toyota
Production System (TPS), just-in-time operation, and
Keywords Engineered Cementitious Composite
lean manufacturing has increased freight traffic by
ECC
HPFRCC
Link slab
Jointless bridge
demanding high frequencies of smaller deliveries.
Sustainability Many nations however, continue to allow the condi-
tion of national infrastructure to become exceedingly
poor, mainly due to a persistent lack of funding,
increasing traffic volumes, and heavier loads on
roadways [3]. This was exemplified by the recent
catastrophic collapse of the I-35W in Minneapolis,
M. D. Lepech
V. C. Li (&) Minnesota USA.
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Many infrastructure maintenance and repair meth-
University of Michigan, 2330 G.G. Brown, Ann Arbor, ods have been proposed and instituted, ranging from
MI 48109, USA
the use of high strength concrete [4] to the use of
e-mail: [email protected]
epoxy coated reinforcing steel [5] on bridge decks,
M. D. Lepech each with varying degrees of success. However, none
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, of these solutions target the inherent shortfall of
Stanford University, 285B Yang and Yamazaki Energy
concrete brittleness, which results in cracking when
and Environment Building, 473 Via Ortega Street,
Stanford, CA 94305-4020, USA loaded. These cracks, with width difficult to be
e-mail: [email protected] controlled in a reliable manner, typically allow salt
 Materials and Structures

water to contact the reinforcing steel, thereby causing 5 150

corrosion through steel oxidation and concrete cover 4.5 130
spalling, and ultimately leading to structural failure. 4

µm)
Crack Width, w (µm)
110

Stress, σ (MPa)
A new type of concrete material that does not crack 3.5
Stress 90
under loading to enhance durability, provides the 3
ductility of reinforced concrete with partial to com- 2.5 70
plete elimination of corrosion-prone reinforcing steel, 2 50
and remains cost competitive with current materials, 1.5
Crack Width 30
would be ideal for both new and rehabilitative 1
(points indicate experimental 10
infrastructure projects. 0.5
measurement)
Within the United States, a major source of bridge 0 -10
0 1 2 3 4
deterioration requiring constant maintenance is
mechanical expansion joints installed between adja- Strain, ε (%)
cent simple span bridge decks [6]. While these
expansion joints are essential to accommodate the Fig. 1 ECC stress–strain response and crack width develop-
ment under uniaxial tension
large thermal deformations of the adjacent steel or
prestressed concrete girder decks, the tendency of
these joints to quickly fall into disrepair and even- Table 1 Mix proportions for ECC material
tually leak is a constant source of deterioration of the Material Proportion
entire superstructure. Water from the deck, saturated (by weight)
with de-icing salts during cold weather, leaks through
Cement 1.0
deteriorated joints and ultimately corrodes the ends
Sand 0.8
of steel girders, or penetrates into precast concrete
Fly ash 1.2
girders and corrodes the reinforcing strands. The
Water 0.59
economic cost and backlog of expansion joint
maintenance have been a continuous source of Superplasticizer 0.015
concerns to departments of transportation. Proposed Fiber (vol fraction) 0.02
solutions to this problem include the development of
continuous bridge decks or integral abutment bridges
which seek to eliminate mechanical expansion joints between 50 and 70 lm during early strain hardening
by using an uninterrupted deck surface over multiple stages (i.e. below 1% tensile strain) and remain at that
spans. However, these solutions are only applicable width under additional tensile strain up to failure
to new construction and present significant design (Fig. 1). These unique characteristics can be attrib-
complications within the superstructure or substruc- uted to deliberate micromechanical tailoring per-
ture when compared to simple bridge span design. formed on the three phases within the composite;
Recent research on Engineered Cementitious Com- fiber, matrix, and fiber/matrix interface [8, 9]. Exam-
posites (ECC), a type of High Performance Fiber ple ECC mix proportions for this demonstration study
Reinforced Cementitious Composite (HPFRCC), has are shown in Table 1.
shown them to be both highly durable and well suited To allow designers to maintain simple span design
for large infrastructure applications [7]. The primary assumptions, and allow for retrofitting of existing
reason for this high performance is the ability of ECC bridge structures, the use of ECC ‘‘link slabs’’, rather
to strain harden under uniaxial tension while forming than mechanical expansion joints between adjacent
large numbers of microcracks up to an ultimate strain bridge spans, is proposed in this project. By removing
capacity typically over 4% as shown in Fig. 1. This the expansion joint and replacing a portion of the two
large strain capacity is over 400 times that of normal adjacent decks with a section of ECC material
concrete. However, unlike many other cement-based overtop the joint, a continuous deck surface is
composites, this high level of tensile strain is not constructed. The unique capability of ECC material
associated with large crack width openings. Typically, to deform up to 4% strain in uniaxial tension while
cracks within ECC material open to a maximum of maintaining low crack widths allows the ECC link
Materials and Structures

slab to accommodate the deformations imposed by -

the adjacent decks (i.e. due to thermal expansion and + +

contraction) while protecting the underlying super-

structure and substructure from corrosives present on
the deck surface.

2 Link slab design

2.1 Link slab design using conventional

reinforced concrete
θ θ

Typical to many regional and state departments of Fig. 2 Bridge moment distribution and link slab hinging
transportation within the US, the State of Michigan mechanism [12]
Department of Transportation (MDOT) has actively
engineered and constructed solutions to the expansion
majority of concrete link slabs within Michigan which
joint problem. Prior to implementing ECC link slab
have shown distress or required maintenance were
technology, MDOT constructed a number of concrete
found to have been designed with too little reinforce-
link slabs within Michigan. These link slabs are
ment, or the reinforcement was not installed properly
designed according to guidelines proposed by Zia
by the contractor [13]. This was attributed to the
et al. [10] and Caner and Zia [11] in conjunction with
unfamiliarity of design engineers with the complicated
the North Carolina Department of Transportation.
concrete link slab design procedure and construction
These guidelines are based on previous research
worker’s reluctance to place unconventionally dense
consisting of theoretical analysis and laboratory
reinforcement within concrete link slabs. Attempting
experiments of simple span bridges (both steel and
to mitigate this high sensitivity to design and field
prestressed concrete girders) utilizing concrete link
construction practices, ECC link slab performance is
slabs to create jointless bridge decks.
more dependent on inherent ECC material properties,
Unlike ECC material, concrete does not exhibit
such as high strain capacity and tight crack widths,
large tensile strain capacities and microcracking
rather than on the placement of reinforcement.
behaviors and therefore must be heavily reinforced
to keep crack widths within a concrete link slab
2.2 Design of an ECC link slab
below acceptable serviceability limits allowed by the
American Association of State and Highway Trans-
For use across the State of Michigan, ECC link slabs
portation Officials (AASHTO) bridge design code.
in this project were designed under the American
This high reinforcement ratio within concrete link
Association of State and Highway Transportation
slabs unnecessarily stiffens a concrete link slab. Due
Officials LRFD Bridge Design Manual [14]. Altera-
to the inherently tight crack widths in ECC, a high
tions to this design process can be made to bring ECC
steel reinforcement ratio for crack control is not
link slab design in line with other international
necessary allowing the ECC link slab to act as a hinge
infrastructure design codes as needed.
connecting the two adjacent spans and allowing for
The overall length of the link slab and the length
more simple design. The lower stiffness of ECC
of the link slab debond zone are calculated in Eqs. 1
material, especially in the microcracked state, would
and 2, respectively.
further enhance this benefit. Such hinging action
(Fig. 2) was found successful in experimental testing Lls ¼ 0:075ðL1 þ L2 Þ þ G12 ð1Þ
by Caner and Zia [11].
Ldz ¼ 0:05ðL1 þ L2 Þ þ G12 ð2Þ
Apart from the unintended stiffness increase result-
ing from excessive crack control reinforcement, con- where Lls is the overall length of the link slab in
struction of concrete link slabs was found to be highly millimeters, L1 and L2 are the span lengths of the two
sensitive to poor construction practices. A large adjacent bridge spans in millimeters, G1-2 is the
 Materials and Structures

Fig. 3 Schematic of ECC Lls (7.5% of span length) + G1-2

link slab
Shear connector Existing rebar (dotted line) spliced
Ldz (5.0% of span length) + G1-2 with new rebar (solid line)

Debonding mechanism Transition zone

(2.5% of span length)

 
length of any gap between the girders of the two 3
adjacent spans in millimeters, and Ldz is the length of hmax ¼ Dmaxshort ð3Þ
Lshort
the link slab debond zone in millimeters.
The debond zone is the center section of the link where hmax is the maximum end rotation angle of the
slab in which all shear connectors between the girder adjacent bridge spans measured in radians, Dmax-short
and deck are removed to prevent composite action is the maximum allowable deflection of the shorter of
between girder and deck (Fig. 3). Along with the two adjacent spans in millimeters, and Lshort is the
removal of shear connectors, a mechanical debonding span length of the shorter of the two adjacent spans in
mechanism is secured to the top flange of the girder millimeters. Since maximum allowable deflection is
to further prevent shear transfer between the girder calculated as a function of span length (i.e. L/800),
and deck. This debonding mechanism may be either the maximum end rotation angle is often a constant
standard roofing tar paper (for use with steel girders) for any span length. For instance, with Dmax equal to
or plastic sheeting (for use with precast concrete L/800, hmax will always be 0.00375 rad.
girders). While composite action is maintained in the The uncracked moment of inertia Ils is computed
adjacent spans, this debonding within the link slab for the link slab per meter width of bridge deck in
allows it to function more efficiently as a hinge mm4, as
between the two adjacent spans while they deflect (as ð1000 mmÞ t3s
shown in Fig. 2). Zia et al. [10] found that up to 5% Ils ¼ ð4Þ
12
of the adjacent deck may be debonded without
affecting the composite action (between deck and where ts is the thickness of the bridge deck slab in
girder) design assumption of the adjacent spans. millimeters.
Outside of the debond zone on either end of the Using the maximum end rotation of the adjacent
link slab are transition zones in which shear connec- bridge spans, and the moment of inertia of the link
tion and composite action between girder and deck slab, the bending moment induced within the link
are re-established. Due to the high shear stresses slab per meter width of bridge deck due to the
within the region, the number of shear connectors imposed rotations is calculated using Eq. 5.
required by the design code is increased by 50%. The 2EECC Ils 0:001
design of shear connectors in concrete according to Mls ¼ hmax ð5Þ
Ldz
the AASHTO design code has been shown conser-
vative for shear connectors in ECC material. It is where Mls is the moment induced into the link slab
recommended to use the standard AASHTO design per meter width of bridge deck in kN-m, EECC is the
procedure for design of shear connectors [15]. elastic modulus of ECC material in GPa, Ils is the
Following the calculation of link slab length, the uncracked moment of inertia of the link slab in mm4
maximum end rotation angles of the adjacent bridge (Eq. 4), Ldz is the length of the link slab debond zone
spans due to live load must be determined per the in millimeters (Eq. 2), and hmax is the maximum end
AASHTO bridge design code. This is a function of rotation angle of the adjacent spans in radians
the maximum allowable deflection and the length of (Eq. 3). The elastic modulus of ECC material is
the adjacent spans as shown in Eq. 3. typically assumed as 20 GPa.
Materials and Structures

The moment induced in the link slab by the 6

rotation of adjacent bridge spans, Mls, can be viewed 5

as the ‘‘moment demand’’ placed on the ECC link

Stress, σ (MPa)
4
slab. Therefore, the uncracked moment of inertia of
σy=3.45MPa
3
the link slab, Ils, is used in Eq. 5. While the ECC link
slab is designed and intended to function in the 2

microcracked state (with lower moment of inertia), 1

εy=0.02%
this higher calculation of moment demand introduces
0
additional conservatism and safety into the ECC link 0 1 2 3 4 5
slab design. This also compensates for the slight Strain, ε (%)
increase in sectional stiffness which would be
Fig. 4 ECC M45 tensile stress–strain and idealized elastic-
calculated if the stiffness contribution from steel
perfectly plastic behavior
reinforcement was included. Further calculations
show that ignoring this contribution of steel rein-
forcements to Mls leads to negligible error.
As
Viewing Mls as the imposed ‘‘moment demand’’,
εT σT
the amount of steel reinforcement within the ECC
εs c σs
link slab must be calculated to resist this moment. d nεd
N.A.
The amount of steel reinforcement within the link ts
slab is based entirely on structural load capacity and
not on any crack width serviceability requirements εc σc
since large tensile cracks do not form in ECC under
normal load conditions [16]. To calculate the moment Strain Stress
capacity of the ECC link slab section, a non-linear Fig. 5 Stress and strain distributions in the ECC link slab
sectional analysis is used based on the assumption cross section carrying a negative moment
that ECC material remains perfectly elastic-plastic in
service. While ECC material typically does show
some strain hardening characteristics after first 3.45 MPa is assumed to be carried by the ECC up to
cracking as shown in Fig. 1, this strength gain will failure between 2 and 3% strain. Using non-linear
not be relied upon to once again promote conserva- analysis and the assumption of a linear strain
tive design practice. distribution within the section, shown in Fig. 5, the
The ‘‘yield strain’’ of the ECC material designed moment capacity of the section can be computed for
for this project and designated M45 is set at 0.02%. any steel reinforcing ratio. The reinforcement ratio is
From a pool of 40 separate tensile test results, this then adjusted accordingly to resist the moment due to
value is chosen as a statistically representative value maximum end rotation computed earlier in Eq. 5.
for the first cracking strain of ECC material and is Figure 5 also shows the cross sectional stress distri-
used for the ECC link slab design. The ‘‘yield bution of a reinforced ECC link slab (R/ECC).
stress’’ of the ECC material is set at 3.45 MPa. To compute the moment capacity of the ECC link
While the actual ultimate strength is typically above slab section, the location of the neutral axis of
this value, 3.45 MPa was again chosen as a the section is determined through force equilibrium.
statistically representative value from the pool of However, prior to performing force equilibrium, the
tensile test results. Statistical variation of these location of the stress ‘‘kink’’ in the tension region of
values has been discussed by the authors elsewhere the section, due to the elastic-plastic tensile response
(Fig. 4) [17]. of ECC material, is calculated. As a result of the
As proposed by Caner and Zia [11], a conservative linear strain assumption within the section, this is
working stress of 40% of the yield strength, fy, of the done using geometry and the ratio of yield strains of
steel reinforcement is used for design. Unlike the steel and ECC, along with the assumption of 40%
design assumptions for concrete, in which no tensile working stress in the reinforcing steel. This is shown
force is carried by the concrete, a substantial stress of in Eq. 6.
 Materials and Structures

eyECC 160

Moment Resistance kN-m/m

ne ¼ ð6Þ ts=250mm
0:4eysteel 140
120 ts=225mm
where ne is the yield strain ratio, ey-ECC is the ‘‘yield 100
ts=200mm
strain’’ of the elastic-plastic ECC behavior (0.02% as 80
ts=175mm
shown in Fig. 4), and ey-steel is the yield strain of the 60

reinforcing steel. 40

Equilibrium balance of the section is enforced 20

to determine the location of the neutral axis. A 0

0 0.002 0.004 0.006 0.008 0.01 0.012 0.014 0.016
preliminary reinforcement ratio is then selected for Reinforcement Ratio, ρ
iterative design. The moment capacity of the ECC
link slab based on this reinforcement ratio is deter- Fig. 6 ECC link slab required reinforcement ratio design chart
mined and this capacity is compared to the moment
induced (i.e. demanded) in the slab the beam end
rotation (from Eq. 5). If moment capacity for the
Using the force in each portion of the section along
selected reinforcement ratio is below the moment
with the location of the neutral axis, the moment
induced, a higher reinforcement ratio is chosen and a
resisting contribution of each portion is used to
second design iteration is performed.
compute the overall moment capacity of the link slab,
Equations 7a–d are used to calculate the force
shown in Eq. 8.
within the reinforcing steel, tensile portion of ECC
  
material, and compressive portion of ECC material ð1  ne Þd þ c
Mr-ls ¼ Tsteel d þ TECC1 þ ne d
per meter width of bridge deck. Equilibrium balance 2
is completed by solving a simple non-linear equation,  
2
shown in Eq. 7e. The goal of this calculation is the þTECC2 ne d
determination of the value for ‘‘d’’. 3

   
Tsteel ¼ 0:4f ysteel qts ð7aÞ 2 1
þ CECC ðt s  d  cÞ ð8Þ
3 1000
TECC1 ¼ f 0t ðð1-ne Þd þ cÞ ð7bÞ
where Mr-ls is the resisting moment capacity provided
TECC2 ¼ 0:5f 0t ne d ð7cÞ
  by the link slab per meter width of bridge deck in
1 kN-m.
0
CECC ¼ 0:5f t ðts  d  cÞ2 ð7dÞ
ne d The moment resistance, Mr-ls, calculated from
Eq. 8, is compared to the moment demand induced
Tsteel þ TECC þ CECC ¼ 0 ð7eÞ
by the imposed end rotations, Mls, from Eq. 5.
where Tsteel is the tension force in the reinforcing Starting with an assumed value for q, if the resistance
steel per meter width of bridge deck in kN, fy-steel is so determined is greater than the demand, the strength
the yield strength of the steel in MPa, q is the steel design is completed using the selected reinforcement
reinforcement ratio, ts is the deck slab thickness in ratio. Otherwise, a higher reinforcement ratio is
millimeters, TECC-1 and TECC-2 are tension forces in selected and the process iterated. Since this process
the ECC per meter width of bridge deck in kN, f 0t is can involve a number of iterations when determining
the assumed tensile strength of the ECC material in the reinforcement ratio, a simple design chart has
MPa, ne is the yield strain ratio computed using Eq. 6, been adapted from that given previously by Li et al.
d is the distance from the neutral axis to the centroid [18] for several slab thicknesses ts. This chart is
of reinforcing steel in millimeters, c is the distance shown as Fig. 6 with accompanying assumptions in
from the tensile face of the slab to the centroid of the Table 2. Once the moment demand is determined
reinforcing steel in millimeters, CECC is the com- (Eq. 5), the reinforcement ratio required can be read
pressive force in the ECC slab per meter width of off from Fig. 6 for a given slab thickness.
bridge deck in kN. Dimensions are shown graphically Finally, a specific reinforcing steel bar is selected
in Fig. 5. and the required bar spacing is calculated using Eq. 9.
Materials and Structures

Table 2 ECC link slab reinforcement ratio design chart centroid of reinforcing steel in mm, c is the distance
assumptions from the tensile face of the slab to the centroid of the
Assumption Value reinforcing steel in mm, eT is the maximum total
tensile strain in the ECC link slab due to live load
Working stress factor [10] 40% moment, shrinkage strains, and temperature defor-
ECC tensile yield strain [17] 0.02% mations of adjacent spans, aT is the coefficient of
Steel tensile yield strain 0.08% thermal expansion for girder material in 1/°C, DT is
Steel tensile yield strength 410 MPa the seasonal temperature range in °C, b is a design
ECC tensile yield strength 3.45 MPa value taken as 2.0 for joints with two roller bearings
Distance from tensile face to steel centroid, c 75 mm and 1.0 for all other joints, Llong is the span length of
the longer adjacent span in millimeters, Ldz is the
length of the link slab debond zone in millimeters, esh
Abar is the shrinkage strain of ECC taken as 0.001 [19],
S¼ ð9Þ
qts and ec is the maximum compressive strain in the link
where s is the spacing between the bars in millime- slab.
ters, Abar is the cross sectional area of the selected The designer must perform a number of other
reinforcing steel bar size in mm2, q is the finalized checks. It should be verified that existing abutments
reinforcement ratio, and ts is the deck slab thickness. can withstand additional thermal movement if all
existing expansion joints are removed. If this is not
2.3 ECC material design checks and construction the case, the existing backwall must be replaced with
sequencing a sliding backwall. The designer should also verify
that the existing pier columns can withstand addi-
To avoid failure of the link slab, the strain demand tional thermal movement if all existing expansion
upon ECC material both in tension and compression joints are removed. The existing bearings should be
must be checked to ensure it does not exceed the checked to verify they can accommodate additional
material capacity. Once the location of the neutral thermal movements.
axis is found, the strain at both the compression and Inherently assumed in this design example is a
tension face due to live loads on the adjacent spans deck pour schedule which places the ECC link slab
can be computed assuming the linear strain distribu- last, since the maximum end rotation of the link slab
tion. The strain in tension is computed using Eqs. 10a is calculated using only the maximum allowable
and 10b, while the compressive strain is computed deflection under live load (Dmax = L/800). If the link
using Eq. 11. If these values computed in Eqs. 10b or slab is cast before all dead loads are applied to the
11 exceed the tensile or compressive strain capacities adjacent spans, the combined dead load end rotation
of ECC material in laboratory testing, a new version and live load end rotation may exceed the value
of ECC must be designed to meet these demands. calculated in Eq. 3. To this end, care must be taken
Otherwise, the length of the link slab debond zone during construction to place all dead loads on
can be lengthened to reduce the tensile demand adjacent spans prior to ECC link slab casting.
(provided the 5% maximum is not exceeded).
0:4eysteel ðd þ cÞ 3 Experimental validation and demonstration
eLL ¼ ð10aÞ
d project
aT DT bLlong
eT ¼ þ esh þ eLL ð10bÞ 3.1 Link slab experimental testing
Ldz
0:4eysteel ðts  d  cÞ
eC ¼ ð11Þ Large scale laboratory testing of ECC link slabs was
d
conducted by Kim et al. [12] to investigate the load
where eLL is the tensile strain due to live load capacity and fatigue performance of ECC link slabs,
moment, ey-steel is the yield strain of the reinforcing along with the development of cracking on the tensile
steel, d is the distance from the neutral axis to the face of the ECC link slab. Kim found that ECC
 Materials and Structures

15.75 1250 rotational amplitude equal to 0.00375 rad. However,

Stiffness ECC LS crack widths in the concrete link slab grew to over
13.5
Stiffness (kN/ m)

Crack Width (µm)

1000
600 lm during cyclic testing while crack widths in
11.25 Concrete LS
750
the ECC link slab remained small, in all cases less
9.0
than 60 lm (Fig. 7). Additionally, wheel abrasion
6.75 500 studies were carried out on ECC slabs and were found
Concrete LS
4.5 to more than meet the minimum standards required
Crack Wi dth 250 by the State of Michigan [18].
2.25
ECC LS
0 0
0 2x10 4 4x10 4 6x10 4 8x10 41x10 5 3.2 Demonstration project
Number of Loading Cycles
A demonstration project, in cooperation with the
Fig. 7 Link slab stiffness and crack width development under
cycle loads [12] Michigan Department of Transportation, was com-
pleted during summer 2005. The 225 mm thick
material was a suitable choice for construction of link ECC link measured 5.5 m 9 20.25 m. Construction
slabs to replace conventional mechanical expansion included 25.5 m3 of ECC, delivered on-site by
joints. The large tensile strain capacity, facilitated by standard ready-mix concrete trucks from a nearby
saturated multiple cracking with widths of 60 lm batching plant. The mix design and processing
meet all structural and durability needs of a link slab requirements for large scale batching, and mixing
application. During monotonic loading, a lower stress of ECC material in ready-mix trucks are discussed in
in the reinforcement was seen in ECC link slabs than Lepech and Li [17].
in concrete link slabs, allowing for further reduction Construction of the demonstration bridge took
of reinforcement levels. Cyclic tests using a full depth place in two phases to allow for continued use of
(225 mm) link-slab and steel girder assembly cover- the bridge during construction. Approximately 15 m3
ing the length represented in Fig. 2 revealed that both of ECC material were prepared for each half of
ECC and concrete link slabs show no degradation of construction (30 m3 total for the bridge), mixed in
stiffness after 100,000 loading cycles (Fig. 7) with three trucks each containing 5 m3 of ECC. As quality

Fig. 8 a Location of ECC

link slab, b placement of
reinforcing steel within link
slab segment, c placement
of ECC material, d finishing
of riding surface
Materials and Structures

Table 3 Average fresh properties of ECC link slab material observations which showed acceptable material
Test Plant Site Required No. of
homogeneity and rheological properties without a
trucks spread diameter of 76 cm. Additionally, the stiffer
ECC mixture gave the general contractor confidence
Temperature (°C) – 26.8 – 6 that the material would not flow off of the bridge due
Flowability 61 63 76 6 to the 2% deck crown. While there were large
diameter (cm)
differences in the fresh appearance of the ECC on site
Air content (%) – 5.1 – 6
(i.e. flowability), differences among the three trucks
measured in the mechanical testing are relatively
control, measurements of mix flowability, air content, small. Mechanical property test results are indistin-
and temperature were conducted for ECC samples guishable between the first, second, or third truck
from each truck arriving on site, along with preparing loads.
specimens for testing hardened mechanical proper-
ties. Placement of ECC material is shown in Fig. 8. 3.3 Proof load testing
Fresh and hardened properties of the ECC material
are given in Tables 3 and 4, respectively. Fresh To validate the performance of the ECC link slab,
properties were determined as outlined for self- static load testing was carried out immediately
consolidating by Michigan Department of Transpor- following construction. This allowed for validation
tation Special Provision for ECC Bridge Deck Link of design assumptions and monitoring of ECC link
Slab [20] and Kong et al. [21]. Compressive strength slab response under static loading. One design
was determined using ACTM C39. Tensile strength assumption to be validated was that the introduction
as strain measurements were determined as outline by of the link slab element did not alter the fundamental
Li et al. [8]. assumption of simple support adopted in the original
Shown in Fig. 8b, the steel reinforcement ratio design of the adjacent composite bridge spans.
used on this bridge greatly exceeds the amount Another assumption that needed validation was the
determined using Eq. 8. As mentioned previously, magnitude of the induced strain on the negative
this bridge project was designed in accordance with moment carrying link slab due to live load on the
AASHTO load resistance factor design (LRFD) bridge span.
standards [14]. Within this design code, the unique Hence, the instrumentation adopted focused upon
tensile and cracking properties of ECC can not yet be two response parameters of the link slab under static
included in the bridge design. Therefore, the link slab load—beam end rotation and maximum strain on link
was over-designed assuming no tensile load capacity slab surface. The rotations of the steel girders
and crack controlling behavior. The steel reinforce- immediately below the link slab were obtained from
ment ratio nearly tripled due to this conservatism. relative displacement measurements (at a sampling
All minimum values set by MDOT were met, rate of 100 Hz) from LVDTs mounted on the top and
aside from the required flowability diameters. These bottom of abutting steel girder ends directly below
requirements were partially relaxed following field the ECC link slab. The direct link slab surface tensile

Table 4 Hardened properties of ECC link slab material

Age Test
(days)
Compressive Tensile strength Tensile strain
Actual Required No. of Actual Required No. of Actual Required No. of
(MPa) (MPa) tests (MPa) (MPa) tests (%) (%) tests

4 32.0 ± 2.0 – 12 3.4 ± 0.25 – 12 2.7 ± 0.4 – 12

7 43.9 ± 2.4 22 12 3.9 ± 0.30 3.45 12 2.5 ± 0.2 2.0 12
14 49.0 ± 2.7 27.5 12 4.2 ± 0.27 3.45 12 2.4 ± 0.3 2.0 12
28 52.4 ± 4.4 31 12 4.4 ± 0.23 3.45 12 2.2 ± 0.1 2.0 12
 Materials and Structures

Table 5 Comparison of measured girder end rotations field material properties determined in this demon-
(LVDT) and analytical girder end rotations (FEM) stration project. The use of a higher elastic modulus
Load Case 1 Load Case 2 would underestimate girder rotation and result in the
relatively small girder rotation predictions shown in
Girder rotation (measured) (rad) 0.00076 0.00071902 Table 5.
Girder rotation (FEM) (rad) 0.00054 0.00091000 The directly measured link slab top surface strains
% Error 28.9 26.6 from strain transducers (0.004 and 0.0025% for the
two load cases) correlated well with those calculated
from measured beam end rotations, consistent with
strain measurements were obtained from strain the assumption of pure bending of the ECC link slab
transducers at a sampling rate of 50 Hz, mounted uncoupled from the girder, as intended in the link slab
directly on the deck surface. Two 6-axle HS 25-44 design (Fig. 2). Without the effective performance of
equivalent trucks served as static proof load. Prior to the debond zone, the link slab would have formed a
load testing, trucks were accurately weighed using a kink on top of the girder end gap and the tensile strain
high-precision highway load station operated by the on the top surface of the ECC link slab would have
Michigan State Police. Proof load testing was con- been unacceptably large. As the measurements from
ducted 8 days following ECC link slab placement. the strain transducers and beam end rotations confirm,
The measured beam end rotations were found to be these strains are significantly below the tensile strain
reasonably comparable to those derived analytically capacity (specified as a minimum of 2% in design
from an approximate bridge deck finite element model documents, and with actual values given in Table 4)
that assumed simply supported condition for the of the ECC material, designed to absorb the much
bridge spans. These comparisons are shown in Table 5 higher strain expected to be induced by temperature
for two test cases—(1) with one HS 25-44 equivalent variation (girder expansion and contraction).
truck being placed at the maximum moment position
on each of the two spans adjacent to the ECC link slab
(Load Case 1), and (2) with two HS 25-44 equivalent 4 Conclusion
trucks being placed at the maximum moment position
of one of the spans adjacent to the ECC link slab (Load Within this demonstration project, a new cementi-
Case 2). Recognizing the many assumptions built into tious composite was used on a bridge deck within
the analytic FEM model, the reasonable alignment of Michigan to replace a conventional joint within the
load tests results with FEM modeling results suggests deck. The composite used, called Engineered Cemen-
that the ECC link slab performs as assumed and can titious Composites or ECC, shows a unique behavior
function without violating the simple span assump- of pseudo-strain hardening under tensile loads. The
tions inherent in the design of the existing adjacent design concepts behind this work have been detailed
spans. herein.
As seen in Table 5, in Load Case 1 measured Following the authoring of design and construction
girder end rotations are greater than the predicted documents, preliminary steps leading toward large-
girder end rotations from FEM analysis while in Load scale trial mixing of ECC were undertaken. These
Case 2 measured girder end rotations are lower than large-scale trial mixes confirmed that large scale
the predicted girder end rotations from FEM analysis. mixing of ECC material was possible and could result
This may be the combination of a number of in a material that maintained its high performance in
phenomena. Measured girder rotations in Load Case large quantity processing with conventional ready-
2 may be lower than maximum due to the physical mix equipment. In accordance with the bridge
limitations of placing two large trucks on a small, contractor’s schedule, the link slab was cast over
highly skewed bridge deck. The low prediction of the fall of 2005 requiring 30 m3 of ECC material.
girder rotation may also result from lower material Quality control of the material sampled from the
stiffness in the ECC link slab material. FEM model ready-mix delivery trucks was conducted for both
inputs were based on a large database of laboratory compressive and tensile response, and determined to
test data rather than the small dataset of sub-optimal be in accordance with the ECC construction contract.
Materials and Structures

Finally, a full scale load test was conducted to 7. Li VC (2003) On engineered cementitious composites
explore the structural response of the constructed (ECC)—a review of the material and its applications.
J Adv Concr Technol 1(3):215–230
ECC link slab. These load tests validated that the 8. Li VC, Wu C, Wang S, Ogawa A, Saito T (2002) Interface
incorporation of an ECC link slab in placement of a tailoring for strain-hardening PVA-ECC. ACI Mater J
conventional expansion joint did not alter the simply 99(5):463–472
supported nature of the bridge spans, and that ample 9. Yang EH, Li VC (2007) Strain-hardening fiber cement
optimization and component tailoring by means of a micro-
strain capacity of the ECC is reserved for temperature mechanical model. J Constr Build Mater (accepted)
induced straining as designed. 10. Zia P, Caner A, El-Safte AK (1995) Jointless bridge decks.
Two years after this ECC link slab was placed, the Research project 23241-94-4. Center for Transportation
performance of this link slab remains unchanged. Engineering Studies, North Carolina State, pp 1–117
11. Caner A, Zia P (1998) Behavior and design of link slabs for
With further long term performance monitoring and jointless bridge decks. PCI J 43:68–80
additional demonstration experience, ECC link slab 12. Kim YY, Fischer G, Li VC (2004) Performance of bridge
can be an effective replacement of conventional deck link slabs designed with ductile ECC. ACI Struct J
expansion joints resulting in significantly reduced 101(6):792–801
13. Gilani A, Jansson P (2004) Link slabs for simply supported
bridge deck maintenance needs. bridges—Michigan Department of Transportation report
no. MDOT SPR-54181. Michigan DOT, Lansing
Acknowledgements The authors would like to graciously 14. American Association of State Highway and Transporta-
thank the Michigan DOT and the US National Science tion Officials (AASHTO) (2004) AASHTO LFRD bridge
Foundation MUSES Grant (CMS-0223971 and CMS- design specifications, 3rd edn. AASHTO, Washington
0329416) for partially funding this research, in particular 15. Li VC, Fischer G, Kim Y, Lepech M, Qian S, Weimann M,
Mr. Roger Till, P.E. and Mr. David Juntunen, P.E. of MDOT. Wang S (2003) Durable link slabs for jointless bridge
The authors would also like to thank Professor Jerome P. decks based on strain-hardening cementitious composites.
Lynch and Mr. Tsung-Chin Hou for the administration of proof Michigan Department of Transportation report no. RC-
load testing, and Dr. Gregor Fischer and Dr. Yun Yong Kim for 1438, pp 1–96
their advice and discussions. 16. Lepech MD, Li VC (2006) Long term durability perfor-
mance of engineered cementitious composites. J Restor
Build Monum 12(2):119–132
17. Lepech MD, Li VC (2008) Large scale processing of
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