Analysis Of Bonded Link Slabs In Precast, Prestressed Concrete Girder Bridges

■ The paper investigates the structural behavior of the bonded link slab and identifies a step-by-step procedure for the design of bonded link slabs for bridge structures in the medium-span-length range. Precast, prestressed concrete girders offer a cost-effective solution for the construction of bridge structures in the medium-span-length range (between 12 and 42 m [40 and 140 ft]). Generally, the precast concrete girders are erected as simply supported (Fig. 1) and the reinforced concrete deck slab is placed afterward (either cast in place or by using precast concrete slab units). In multiple-span construction (Fig. 1), the deck slab is made continuous over the intermediate supports to minimize the use of expansion joints. The portion of the deck slab connecting two adjacent simple-span girders is referred to as the link slab (Fig. 1). The link slab can be cast with the deck slab or separately after all dead loads are placed.