Structural Design with UHPC Using AASHTO Specifications
FHWA is presenting a 4-hour workshop on "Structural Design with UHPC using AASHTO Guide Specifications" at the upcoming International Bridge Conference (IBC) in San Antonio on Tuesday, June 4, 2024, from 1:30pm to 6pm.
Details on the conference can be found here.
Ultra-high performance concrete (UHPC) offers enhanced mechanical and durability properties that make it an ideal material for use in the construction, repair, and preservation of highway bridges. Research related to UHPC has been ongoing for the past few decades. Early widespread adoption of UHPC was for connections between prefabricated bridge elements, and the next phase of adoption focused on preservation and repair activities. Looking forward, the use of UHPC for primary structural members has emerged as a compelling application, as it will allow for reduced dead loads, decreased girder depths, increased span lengths, elimination of intermediate piers, and extended service life, among other possible benefits.
The release of the AASHTO Guide Specifications for Structural Design with Ultra-High Performance Concrete will allow designers to begin engaging UHPC. The objective of FHWA's workshop is to provide background, context, and foundational knowledge to bridge owners and designers interested in using UHPC for structural applications, building on a basic knowledge of reinforced and prestressed concrete bridge design to introduce and explain aspects of analysis and design unique for UHPC structural elements.
Registration for IBC is currently open
International Bridge Conference
The IBC is the pre-eminent arena for the bridge industry in North & South America, Europe, Australia, Asia and Africa.
Presented by the Engineers’ Society of Western Pennsylvania, the IBC annually attracts over 1,000 bridge owners and engineers, policy makers, government officials, bridge designers, construction executives, and suppliers throughout the United States and abroad.
Ultra-High Performance Concrete
Advances in the science of concrete materials have led to the development of a new class of cementitious composites called UHPC.
The mechanical and durability properties of UHPC make it ideal for use in developing new solutions to pressing concerns about highway infrastructure deterioration, repair, and replacement.
FHWA's UHPC research and development program has produced a range of publications on the performance and use of UHPC, which can be found here.
