Shear Strength of Joints in Precast Concrete Segmental Bridges: 1

The authors present a great work, with an impressive number of experimental results, and should be congratulated. Nevertheless, the discussers have some comments and suggestions. In the introduction of the article, it is stated that the shear keys serve three functions: aligning the segments during erection, transferring the shear force between segments during service, and ensuring durability of the tendons against corrosion. However, the crucial function of resisting shear during the construction of balanced cantilever bridges, when the epoxy has not hardened and acts like a lubricant, is not mentioned. It is very difficult to extract definite conclusions from the test program because the object of the research is very dependent on the concrete tensile strength. This magnitude can be derived from the concrete compressive strength with a significant scatter, which of course will be more important for concrete compressive strength in the range of 30 MPa to 80 MPa, as those considered in the test program.