Transverse Cracking of High Performance Concrete Bridge Decks After One Season or 6 to 8 Months

Cracking is a major problem with newly placed concrete decks. These decks tend to develop full depth, transverse cracks and partial depth longitudinal cracks within a few months of the concrete being placed. A literature review showed that several other states had experienced similar problems. A review of data from Ohio bridge decks showed weak correlations between deck cracking and slump, time of year when the deck was placed, shrinkage, chloride permeability and compressive strength, but there was no clear relationship between cracking and any of these properties. Data also suggested that using a coarse aggregate with an absorption > 1% may help mitigate deck cracking but will not always stop it. As part of this study, 3 bridge decks were instrumented. One was a standard class “S” concrete deck and the other two were high performance concrete. The class “S” deck showed only hairline cracking after 1 year, but transverse cracking occurred in the HPC decks. Instruments were placed in the decks to monitor strains. From the data, it appears that cracking is caused by several factors. High heat of hydration caused the plastic concrete to expand. When the concrete sets and cools, tensile stresses develop. Further tensile stresses develop through drying shrinkage. Restraining the deck against normal thermal movement contributes to additional tensile stress. Autogenous shrinkage, where high heats of hydration cause water evaporation during hydration, and plastic shrinkage may cause more tensile stress. Recommendations for mitigating cracking include using lower cement contents, adding pozzolans and retarders, using slightly higher water/cement ratios, using larger aggregates, taking steps to limit shrinkage and eliminating restraints.