Download or read book Connection Between Simple Span Precast Concrete Girders Made Continuous written by Amy J. Dimmerling and published by . This book was released on 2002 with total page 210 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Precast prestressed concrete girders have been used in bridge construction for several years in the United States. In general, these types of bridges have performed well in service conditions. Although the connections over the supports provide sufficient continuity for dead loads, which cause negative moments, there has been some concern about the ability of the connections to provide continuity for the positive moments caused by live loads. Cracking has been observed at the bottom of the diaphragm at the connection and this raises concern about the connection's performance. The National Cooperative Highway Research Program developed Project 12-53 to study the effectiveness of these connections. The focus of this research deals with the experimental testing part of project 12-53. Six specimens that represent portions of full-size bridges were tested under monotonic and cyclic loads to evaluate their performance after cracking occurs at the bottom of the diaphragm. Each connection was fatigued until the connection was considered to have failed. The bent strand and bent bar embedded connections performed well under service moments. Under negative moment all of the specimens performed well. Even after failure of the specimens they each were able to resist the negative moment. This was due to the bearing of the diaphragm against the beams. The crack closes and at this point there is no difference between the specimens. Under positive moment the embedded specimens were stiffer and the failure was more gradual than that of the not embedded specimens. The embedment adds to the stiffness of the specimens. The engagement of the diaphragm in the embedded specimens helps to prolong the failure. The warning signs of failure are more prominent in the embedded specimens. The bent bar specimens are stiffer than the bent strand but the failure occurs more rapidly. After all six of the short-length specimens are tested, full-size specimens will be tested. At that point, results from all testing will be compared and discussed providing conclusions about the behavior of positive moment connections. Also, recommendations are expected as to the design and construction of positive moment connections in precast/prestressed bridge girders made continuous.