Title:
Early-Age Cracking in Reconstructed Concrete Bridge Barrier Walls
Author(s):
Daniel Cusson and Wellington Repette
Publication:
Materials Journal
Volume:
97
Issue:
4
Appears on pages(s):
438-446
Keywords:
crack; creep; shrinkage; vibration.
DOI:
10.14359/7407
Date:
7/1/2000
Abstract:
An assessment of newly reconstructed reinforced concrete barrier walls on a highway bridge in Montreal indicated intense transverse cracking only a few days after concreting. Subsequent inspection of other concrete bridges in urban areas confirmed that such cracking is not uncommon in rehabilitated bridges. Analytical models, together with field and estimated data, were used to study the magnitude and roles of the factors that are the probable cause of this cracking. The results indicate that a combination of factors, such as temperature gradients, differential shrinkage, and vibration due to traffic circulation, generated stresses that exceeded the low tensile strength of the young concrete.