Development of Rapid In-Situ Testing for Concrete Deck Durability

Project Information
Link to the Latest: June 2023 Progress Report

Background:
Assessing durability on-site is a challenging task.  An interesting quality check test for the durability of concrete has been developed at FIU which could be modified for “in-situ” assessment of the durability concrete elements (column, beam, abutments, bridge deck, etc.) in less than 20 minutes. This which would allow for a quick quality control assessment of the concrete components used in Accelerated Bridge Construction (ABC). Following is a very brief description of this novel method.

The method quickly assesses the durability of hardened concrete material against liquid ingress, at very high pressure. This proposal aims at relating this behavior to standard durability tests, such as Freeze/Thaw, Rapid Chloride Permeability, Bulk Resistivity and Surface Resistivity tests that are expensive and take a very long time. The entire test lasts 20 minutes. In the developed method, liquid at high pressure is applied to the surface of hardened concrete and time vs. pressure response is obtained.

Objective:
This project is aiming at establishing a relationship that might exist between routine Freeze/Thaw, Rapid Chloride Permeability (RCP), Bulk Resistivity (BR), and Surface Resistivity (SR) tests and the novel method developed. If such a relation exists, the durability assessment of concrete bridge elements can be achieved in less than 20 minutes.

 

Scope:
This project is aiming at establishing a relationship that might exist between routine Freeze/Thaw, Rapid Chloride Permeability (RCP), Bulk Resistivity (BR), and Surface Resistivity (SR) tests and the novel method developed at FIU. If such a relation exists, the durability assessment of concrete bridge elements can be achieved in less than 20 minutes.

 

  • Task 1 – Literature Review
    • A comprehensive review of existing technologies used to determine the durability of existing concrete bridge decks will be conducted. The objective of this task is to develop a database identifying all existing technologies.

 

  • Task 2 – Comparison between Freeze-Thaw test results and FIU method test results.
    • Freeze-Thaw tests will be conducted on concrete specimens as per ASTM C 666, “Standard Test Method for Resistance of Concrete to Rapid Freezing and Thawing” and AASHTO T 161, “Standard Method of Test for Resistance of Concrete to Rapid Freezing and Thawing”. Comparison between results to the results obtained from FIU method will be conducted.

 

  • Task 3 – Comparison between Rapid Chloride Permeability test results and FIU method test results.
    • Rapid Chloride Permeability tests will be conducted on concrete specimens as per AASHTO T277, “Standard Method of Test for Rapid Determination of the Chloride Permeability of Concrete” and ASTM C1202, “Standard Test Method for Electrical Indication of Concrete’s Ability to Resist Chloride Ion Penetration”. Comparison between results to the results obtained from FIU method will be conducted.

 

  • Task 4 – Compare Electrical Resistivity tests to FIU method test results.
    • Surface Resistivity (SR) tests on concrete specimens will be conducted as per AASHTO T358. Bulk Resistivity (BR) test will be conducted on concrete specimens as per AASHTO TP 119. Comparison between results to the results obtained from FIU method will be conducted.

 

  • Task 5 – Final reporting.
    • Final report summarizing experimental results and complete system design, ABC-UTC Guide, and a video presentation will be prepared that summarize the methods used and the findings reached during the project.

 

Research Team:
Principal Investigator:  Amer Awwad, M.S., P.E.
Co-Principal Investigator: Kingsley Lau, PhD
Co-Principal Investigator: Atorod Azizinamini, PhD, P.E.
Co-Principal Investigator: Islam Mantawy, PhD, PE (Rowan University)
Co-Principal Investigator: Ankitha Arvan
Research Assistant:  TBD

Previous Progress Reports:
December 2022 Progress Report
March 2023 Progress Report