This project will develop structural design guidelines and details for concrete bridge decks built with corrosion-resistant reinforcing (CRR) steel bars. Existing design equations can limit efficient CRR implementation and, in some cases, produce unsafe designs if improperly designed and detailed.

The researcher will conduct experiments to quantify structural performance of CRR bridge decks. The project then will evaluate current structural design procedures for service and ultimate strength design and extend these procedures so they are compatible with CRR design. This includes analysis protocols for modem sectional analysis software for use by engineers working with VDOT.

Bridge deck plate experiments also are planned to evaluate punching shear capacity. Finally, full-scale experiments will be performed to show the viability of the proposed CRR engineering framework and bridge deck details so VDOT can take advantage of the beneficial properties of CRR in bridges.