Development Length Tests of Full-Scale Prestressed Self-Consolidating Concrete Box and I-Girders

Abstract

Self-consolidating concrete (SCC) is a highly workable concrete with tremendous potential to reduce the production time and cost of precast members. Institutions in Japan, Europe, and the United States have successfully utilized SCC in large-scale applications, particularly in bridges. However, lack of experimental data has hindered SCC’s implementation in prestressed design. This paper reports the findings of a study investigating the development length of steel strands in SCC full-scale prestressed bridge girders. Flexural tests are conducted on two 8.5-m-long box girders and two 14.6-m-long I-girders cast with SCC to determine the development length of their 12.7-mm-diameter prestressing steel strands. Experimental results are compared with requirements of the American Concrete Institute and AASHTO. Results are also compared with analytical expressions for development length proposed in the literature.