Affiliation:
1. School of Civil Engineering, Dalian Jiaotong University, Dalian 116028, China
2. College of Transportation Engineering, Dalian Maritime University, Dalian 116026, China
3. Faculty of Infrastructure Engineering, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian 116024, China
Abstract
This paper studied the flexural behavior of bridge deck link slabs made with polyvinyl alcohol–strain-hardening cementitious composites (PVA-SHCC). The tensile and flexural properties of the self-compacting PVA-SHCC with four volume fractions, i.e., 0%, 1%, 1.5%, and 2%, were evaluated first. Next, using the similarity theory, composite models with a geometric similarity ratio of 1:5 were designed to represent the bridge deck with the link slabs. The models considered three materials for link slabs, including concrete, cement mortar, and self-compacting PVA-SHCC, and two different curing ages at 7 and 56 days. Bending tests were performed to investigate the flexural behavior of the models. Based on the fractal theory, the cracking characteristics of the models with different types of link slabs were compared, and the relationship between fractal dimensions and the flexural behavior of the models was studied. Numerical models were built to correlate with the results from the bending tests. It was illustrated that the flexural behavior of the self-compacting PVA-SHCC link slab is better than that of concrete and cement mortar link slabs, where the crack initiation and propagation can be postponed. The results can provide theoretical support and design guidance for the self-compacting PVA-SHCC bridge deck.
Funder
National Natural Science Foundation of China