Lightweight Concrete Precast Bridge Deck Panels Reinforced with Glass Fiber-Reinforced Polymer Bars

Lightweight (LW) concrete results in bridge deck panels that are easier to lift, and its use reduces the bridge deck and substructure weight. Twenty panels constructed using LW and normalweight (NW) concrete reinforced with glass fiber-reinforced polymer (GFRP) bars for flexure without any shear reinforcement were tested to failure. The variables investigated were concrete compressive strength, deck span, panel thickness and width, and reinforcement ratio. The experimental results showed that LW concrete panels performed similar to NW concrete panels; however, they experienced larger deflections under the same load and had a lower ultimate shear strength than NW concrete panels. The ultimate shear strength of LW concrete panels reinforced with GFRP bars is predicted using the ACI 440.1R-06 guidelines and the service-load deflection is compared to AASHTO requirements. A reduction factor is found to be necessary for predicting shear strength when LW concrete is used with GFRP bars. [PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]