Performance of Highway Bridge Girder Anchorages under Simulated Hurricane Wave Induced Loads

Abstract

Many bridges along the Gulf Coast of the United States were damaged by hurricanes, especially in the 2004 and 2005 hurricane seasons. Many more bridges are susceptible to similar damage. This research examines the structural performance of three commonly used connection details for AASHTO Type III prestressed concrete girders: headed studs, through bolts, and clip bolts. Full-scale specimens were fabricated and tested under static and dynamic cyclic load histories using expected maximum loads from previously conducted hydraulic tests of a scale model of a highway bridge spanning a coastal embayment. The load effects considered included (1) vertical uplift force, (2) lateral force, (3) combined lateral and vertical forces, and (4) dynamically applied wave force time histories. Connection performance was evaluated by comparing initial concrete cracking, strand slip, and ultimate capacity. The experimental results showed that the insert clip-bolt connections had the lowest capacity and produced significant ancillary damage to the surrounding concrete while the headed-stud connections exhibited the highest load capacity and negligible ancillary concrete damage. None of the anchorages considered would be capable of resisting newly specified vertical wave forces for large hurricane wave heights when significant air is entrapped such as those observed in Hurricane Katrina.