Full-scale test of the hydration heat and the curing method of the wet joints of a precast segmental pier of a bridge

Abstract

Although prefabricated segmental structures, especially for use as a sea-crossing bridge, exhibit high quality and are barely affected by the environment and climate, more attention should be paid to the wet joints to ensure the durability of such structures (e.g. a precast segmental pier). Using one offshore bridge as a reference, this study reports the results of full-scale model tests performed to determine the factors of the hydration heat, with focus on two types of concretes integrated using different curing methods. The wet joint concrete admixed using an expansive admixture and a painting compound curing method proved to be satisfactory and thus recommended for use on the reference bridge. Inspections for over five years of the reference bridge proved that the results were better than expected.

Keywords:

• hydration heat
• curing method
• wet joint
• precast segmental pier
• segmental construction
• offshore bridge

Acknowledgements

The authors extend our appreciation to all the workers of CHINA HARBOUR THIRD HARBOUR ENGINEERING BUREAU, who helped us perform the experiments.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This research was supported by the National Basic Research Program of China (973 Program) [grant number 2013CB036303].