Accelerated testing of super lightweight UHPC waffle deck under heavy vehicle simulator

A super lightweight deck can enhance load rating and functionality of a bridge, especially those identified as structurally deficient. This study was aimed to develop and experimentally validate a novel bridge deck as an ultra-lightweight low-profile waffle slab of ultra-high-performance concrete (UHPC) with either carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) or high strength steel (HSS) reinforcement. The proposed system lends itself to accelerated bridge construction, rapid deck replacement in bridges with load restrictions, and bridge widening applications without the need to replace girders. Performance and failure modes of the proposed deck were initially assessed through extensive lab experiments and finite element analysis, which together confirmed that the proposed deck panel meets the AASHTO LRFD requirements. The proposed deck system is not susceptible to punching shear of its thin slab and fails in a rather ductile manner. To evaluate its long-term performance, the system was further tested under the dynamic impact of wheel load at the Accelerated Pavement Testing (APT) facility of the Florida Department of Transportation using a Heavy Vehicle Simulator (HVS).