Effects of concrete strength on structural behavior of holed-incrementally prestressed concrete (H-IPC) girder

Abstract

Holed-Incrementally Prestressed Concrete (H-IPC) girders are designed using the following new design concepts. At first, web openings reduce the self-weight of the girder, and also diffuse prestressing tendon anchorages. The reduced end anchoring forces decrease the web thickness of the end sections. Additionally, precast technology help to improve the quality of concrete and to reduce the construction period at the site. For experimentally verification, two 50 m full-scale H-IPC girders are manufactured with different concrete strength of 55 MPa and 80 MPa. The safety, stiffness, ductility, serviceability and crack development of H-IPC girder are measured and compared with each other for different strengths. Both girders show enough strength to carry live load and good stiffness to satisfy the design criteria. The experimental result shows the advantages of using high strength concrete and adopting precast girder. The test data can be used as a criterion for safety control and maintenance of the H-IPC girder.