Performance Assessment of Bridge Deck Overlays Using Accelerated Testing and Nondestructive Evaluation

The performance evaluation of a concrete bridge deck with ultra-high-performance concrete (UHPC) and Latex-modified concrete (LMC) overlay was evaluated in the BEAST (Bridge Evaluation and Accelerated Structural Testing) facility at Rutgers University. A bridge structure 15 m long and 8.5 m wide was subjected to accelerated live and environmental loadings. The accelerated live loading is achieved by continuously passing a dual-axle carriage, applying a load of 230 kN over the deck. More than 10,000 carriage passes are made per day. In addition, the environmental loads are simulated through rapid freeze-thaw cycling and spreading of salt brine. The deck's condition is evaluated after approximately 200,000 live-loading cycles by five nondestructive evaluation (NDE) technologies: electrical resistivity, half-cell potential, impact echo, ultrasonic surface waves, and ground penetrating radar. After more than four million live-loading cycles, the UHPC- and LMC-overlaid deck showed superior performance over the bare concrete deck tested with only two million live-loading cycles concerning corrosion, delamination formation, and concrete quality degradation. The results of the study also demonstrate the capability of the BEAST facility, combined with NDE, to induce, capture, and quantify deterioration and defect formation processes in bridge structures in an accelerated manner. The paper provides an overview of the BEAST facility, the bridge deck condition assessment and long-term monitoring by NDE technologies, and a comparison of the performance results of the bare and overlaid bridge decks and corresponding anticipated performance on actual bridges.