Polymer Concrete for Bridge Deck Closure Joints in Accelerated Bridge Construction

Prefabricated concrete bridge deck panels are utilized in Accelerated Bridge Construction (ABC) to simplify bridge deck construction. Concrete with good bond and shear strength as well as excellent flowability is required to fill bridge deck closure joints. This paper discusses the use of polymer concrete (PC) for bridge deck closure joints in ABC. PC produced using poly methyl methacrylate and standard aggregate was tested. Test results of PC are compared to Ultra-High Performance Concrete (UHPC). Development length, lap splice length and shear strength of unreinforced PC were tested. It is shown that PC has a development length of 3.6 to 4.1 times the reinforcing bar diameter that is close to one-half the development length of 6 to 8 times the bar diameter required with UHPC. PC also showed a shorter splice length compared with that reported for UHPC. Finally, unreinforced PC showed shear strength that is twice that of UHPC. It is evident that using PC in bridge deck closure joints in ABC can improve constructability and provide cost-savings and eliminate reinforcing bar congestion.