Effect of superposed deck on the static performance of a prestressed concrete hollow slab girder bridge

Abstract

To investigate the effect of superposed deck on the static performance of a prestressed concrete wide hollow slab girder bridge, static loading tests were conducted on it before and after it had been rehabilitated by replacing its old unbonded concrete deck with a new bonded one. During each test, three trucks were used to apply the load. Sap2000 commercial software was adopted to simulate the loading test after the rehabilitation. Both field tests and simulation results show that superposition of the new deck over the hollow slab girders can significantly increase the overall rigidity of the bridge, reducing both its deflections and strains. Hence replacement of an old unbonded bridge deck with a new bonded one is an effective method for bridge retrofitting. In the simulation of field tests of a bridge, the calculated results can be in rational agreement with the measured ones if the effect of overlaid deck and guard rail s has been carefully taken into account.