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This report presents results from a laboratory study and field implementation of acoustic emission monitoring of fatigue cracks in cover-plated steel bridge girders. The acoustic monitoring successfully detected growing fatigue cracks in the lab when using both source location and a state of stress criteria. Application of this methodology on three field bridges also proved successful by detecting a propagating crack in two of the bridges and an extinguished crack in a third bridge. Researchers tested a double angle retrofit, designed by the Minnesota Department of Transportation, both in the lab and in the field of girder with fatigue cracks in the top flange. This retrofit does not require removal of concrete deck, and only involves bolting the retrofit to the bridge girder web. The double angle retrofit applied to laboratory test girder resulted in a reduction of flange stresses by 42 percent. Field implementation of the retrofit had mixed success. On one bridge, stress ranges in the cracked flange was reduced by 43 percent. However, on a second test bridge, the reduction was only 8 percent, likely due to the inadequate space for proper installation of the retrofit.

There are many wooden bridges in the United States. Their decks are often built of timber beams nailed together and covered with asphalt. The asphalt plays a mechanical role, and it provides environmental protection for the wood deck. The asphalt layer deteriorates and requires replacement. That leads to a faster deterioration of the deck, increased maintenance, and shorter bridge life. The flexibility of the deck is a probable cause of the fast deterioration of the asphalt. Low temperatures lead to deformations of the deck and may lead to cracks, which are propagated by mechanical and environmental effects. This project investigates stiffening the bridge deck by connecting a beam perpendicularly to the deck planks with metal bolts to reduce deformations of the deck. The additional beam is called a Transverse Stiffener Beam (or TSB). It can be incorporated as a part of new bridges or be attached to existing bridges. The investigations show the TSB significantly reduces deformations of the deck in most cases. The study indicates the positive effects of the TSB's should be expected in other applications. The magnitude of the effects can be analyzed with the computer program developed during this project.

Vertical cracks near the midspan of large-sized prestressed concrete bridge girders may develop during the curing process and can extend through the depth of the girder. The cracking is attributed to restrained shrinkage and thermal effects prior to release of the prestressing strands. Eighteen full-scale Minnesota Department of Transportation Type 28M prestressed concrete beams were tested to investigate the effects of the cracks on the performance of the beams. Thirteen beams tested in this study incorporated manmade pre-release cracks. All of the beams were tested under static loading to investigate the effects of pre-release cracks on concrete strains, flexural crack initiation and re-opening loads, overall beam stiffness, and ultimate flexural capacity. Three of the beams were subjected to cyclic testing to evaluate possible effects of the pre-release cracks on the strand stress ranges and fatigue life of the beams. Unlike the field observations, the pre-release cracks in the test beams did not close completely under the beam's weight and pre-stressing force. The pre-release cracks were found to cause changes in beam strains around the crack locations. The overall stiffnesses of the beams were also affected by the reduction in the moment of inertia of the pre-release crack section. Following pre-release crack closure, the beams recover the stiffness comparable to that of the uncracked beams. No significant effect of pre-release cracks was observed on the behavior of the beams near the ultimate capacity. Results from the cyclic testing of three beams indicated that a beam that develops pre-release cracks is more likely to experience fatigue problems and tend to cause a reduction in the beam's fatigue life. Guidelines are proposed for the assessment of girders that develop pre-release cracks during production.

This report investigates a method of repairing fatigued steel bridge girders using carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) strips. This type of repair would be used to prevent the propagation of cracks which could lead to failure of the bridge girders. The main advantage of using CFRP is it is lightweight and durable, resulting in ease of handling and maintenance. Therefore, it would not require the closing of traffic on the bridge during rehabilitation. Effective bond length was determined by a series of experimental tests with actual materials, as well as through the use of analytical equations. Finally, tests were conducted on full-scale cracked girders; the application of the CFRP strips to the steel girders resulted in significant strain reduction, except in the case of small cracks where it was difficult to clearly identify the benefits.

In this project, researchers investigated methods for mitigating corrosion in reinforced concrete structures on the substructure of a bridge in Minneapolis, Minnesota. They treated several corrosion-damaged columns and pier caps with electrochemical chloride extraction (ECE). Then selected ECE-treated and untreated structures were wrapped with fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) wraps or sealed with concrete sealers to prevent future chloride ingression. They installed embeddable corrosion monitoring instrumentation in the field structures to evaluate the effectiveness of ECE treatment. Although the ECE process reduced average chloride levels in the treated structures by approximately 50%, several locations still had chloride concentrations in excess of the established corrosion threshold following ECE treatment. Resistivity probe failures that occurred at some of these locations indicated corrosion within the treated structures still could occur, despite re-passivation of the reinforcing steel following ECE treatment. Continued monitoring of the installed instrumentation is required to evaluate the long-term effectiveness of ECE treatment and concrete wrapping/sealing as a corrosion mitigation technique. In laboratory testing of the three FRP wrap types, the Mbrace CFRP and GFRP reported higher peeling loads and lower diffusion rates than the AMOCO CRFP, and thus were considered more effective sealant systems. However, concrete sealers are recommended to prevent future chloride ion ingress, instead of FRP wraps, because the use of sealers does not prevent visual inspection of the concrete for corrosion damage.

This research project investigated the effects of pre-release cracks on girder camber, flexural cracking capacity, and steel stress ranges. The research included a parametric study investigating stress ranges in the prestressing strands in uncracked, cracked and partially cracked girder sections to determine if steel fatigue was a concern. An analytical study also was performed, which modeled several pre-release cracks, including models of two experimental girders that developed pre-release cracks, to determine the effect of various cracks on girder stress and camber. The study concluded that steel fatigue in the prestressing strand is a concern in girders that become cracked in service. A loss of compressive stress is believed to occur in the bottom fiber of the girder because of pre-release cracks, which may result in the section cracking at lower applied load. Finite element modeling determined the loss of compressive stress in bottom fiber of girders with pre-release cracks. Analytical models also showed that pre-release cracks remained local to the crack location, that non-linear stress distributions occurred during the process of crack closure, and that the magnitude of the pre-release crack effects depended on the number of cracks, the crack width, and the crack depth.

This report summarizes an experimental program that investigated the development length and variability in bond of glass-fiber-reinforced-polymer (GFRP) reinforcement in concrete.

This project involved the construction of two long-span, high-strength composite prestressed bridge girders to investigate their structural behavior and the adequacy of American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) 1993 provisions for their design. The scope of the research included examining prestress losses, transfer length, cyclic load response, and ultimate flexural strength. The research revealed that prestress losses could not be determined solely from strain gage instrumentation. Foil strain gages attached to the strand cannot measure losses caused by relaxation and drift over time. Vibrating wire strain gages embedded in the concrete cannot account for losses in the prestressing strand before the concrete hardens. Researchers used vibrating wire gage data to measure the prestress losses incurred since the time of strand release. To backcalculate the losses that occur before release, researchers used total prestress losses determined from flexural cracking and crack reopening loads. The measured prestress losses were found to be much higher than those predicted by analytical methods. Prestress losses predicted by AASHTO not only ignore concrete stress before release but also overestimate the high-strength concrete modulus, leading to lower initial losses, and overpredict the creep and shrinkage, leading to higher long-term losses.

Prior to 1985, it was common practice to avoid welding the connection plates to the tension flange of the girders of steel bridges. However, extensive fatigue cracking has developed in the unstiffened web gaps because of out-ofplane distortion. A new retrofit option was investigated that uses a room-temperature-cured two-part epoxy (3M Adhesive DP460-NS) to join a small length of 3/4-inch thick steel angle to the tension flange and the connection plate. A field test on two skewed bridges showed that the adhesive-angle retrofit system decreased the out-of-plane strain range by 40 to 50% when the original strain range was more than 50 microstrains. The ten adhesive-angle retrofits remained in place and were in good condition after three and a half years, suggesting that the chosen adhesive had good environmental durability. A laboratory large-scale specimen test with 8 web gaps showed that the retrofit system stopped or retarded most cracks even without stop holes when the measured out-of-plane strains were approximately 600 microstrains. Coupon tests conducted to investigate the environmental durability of the chosen adhesive showed that the chosen adhesive is suitable for applications at room or low temperature, even with high relative humidity.

The behavior of concrete integral abutment bridges was investigated through a field experiment and a numerical parametric study. The field investigation focused on Bridge #55555 in Rochester, Minnesota, which was monitored from November 1996 to February 2004. Over 150 instruments were installed during construction of the bridge to measure abutment horizontal movement, abutment rotation, abutment pile strains, earth pressure, pier pile strains, prestressed girder strains, concrete deck strains, thermal gradients, and weather. The collected data were used to understand the behavior of Bridge #55555 due to the effects of temperature, creep and shrinkage. Two live load tests were conducted in 1997 and 1999, to examine the behavior of the bridge under live load. The overall performance of the integral abutment bridge was good. Bridge shortening was observed from the readings of different sensors. A steadily increasing tendency of average pile curvatures was observed from the measured data. Possible reasons were investigated through a time-dependent numerical analysis. A 3D finite element model of the test bridge was developed which took into account soil-structure interaction. The model was calibrated using data collected from the truck tests and the data from the seasonal and daily temperature variations. A parametric study was conducted to extend the results of the test bridge to other integral abutment bridges with different design variables including pile foundation type, bridge span and length, and orientation and length of wingwalls. Several design recommendations are made regarding the temperature range, use of predrilled holes around the piles, pile analysis method, and the applications of simplified design approaches for concrete integral abutment bridges.

A number of countries have incorporated precast components in bridge superstructures and substructures. Precast components include deck, abutment, and wall elements. Benefits of using precast elements in bridge construction include the high level of quality control that can be achieved in plant cast production compared to field cast operations and speed of construction afforded by the assembly of precast elements at the site rather than the time consuming on site forming and casting required in cast-in-place construction. Key components in the application of precast concrete to bridge structures are the connection elements. Connection details include the use of posttensioning systems, and various connection details such as weld plates, studs in grout pockets, and shear keys. The Minnesota Department of Transportation (Mn/DOT) constructed a bridge incorporating precast elements to enable rapid construction. The objective of this study was to develop an instrumentation plan to enable investigation of the performance of this bridge. Researchers developed an instrumentation plan based on information provided by the Mn/DOT bridge office regarding the specific bridge details and behaviors to be investigated. The instrumentation plan included the types and locations of the instruments.

The Minnesota Department of Transportation (Mn/DOT) documented the appearance of excessive cracks in the reinforced concrete pier cap overhangs of State Highway Bridges 19855 and 19856. As a part of this study, the ultimate capacity of the pier cap overhangs was estimated by comparing predicted capacities calculated using standard design specifications to experimental results published in the worldwide literature. It was determined that the ultimate capacity of the pier cap overhangs was more than sufficient to assure that a cracked, but undeteriorated, pier cap is not prone to structural failure. An estimate of the initial cracking load of the pier cap overhangs was also created to determine what changes to pier cap design would be required to prevent future overhangs from cracking. It was determined that the depth of the overhangs would have to be increased by approximately 20% to prevent them from cracking. The changes to pier cap overhang design required to prevent cracking or meet recommendations to reduce crack widths may not be economically feasible. Therefore, other methods for controlling crack widths must were examined. An experimental study was conducted to investigate the use of externally bonded (EB) FRP sheets and near surface mounted (NSM) FRP tape for shear strengthening of reinforced concrete beams. This report describes the experimental program, presents the results of the study, and discusses the outcome of that investigation.

The Minnesota Department of Transportation has typically used epoxy-coated, straight-legged stirrups anchored in the tension zone as transverse reinforcement in prestressed concrete bridge girders. This configuration is readily placed after stressing the prestressing strands. American Concrete Institute (ACI) and American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) specifications require stirrups with bent legs that encompass the longitudinal reinforcement to properly anchor the stirrups. Such a configuration is specified to provide mechanical anchorage to the stirrup, ensuring that it will be able to develop its yield strength with a short anchorage length to resist shear within the web of the girder. AASHTO specifications for anchoring transverse reinforcement are the same for reinforced and prestressed concrete; however, in the case of prestressed concrete bridge girders, there are a number of differences that serve to enhance the anchorage of the transverse reinforcement, thereby enabling the straight bar detail. These include the precompression in the bottom flange of the girder in regions of web-shear cracking. In addition, the stirrup legs are usually embedded within a bottom flange that contains longitudinal strands outside the stirrups. The increased concrete cover over the stirrups provided by the bottom flange and the resistance to vertical splitting cracks along the legs of the stirrups provided by the longitudinal prestressing reinforcement outside the stirrups help to enhance the straight-legged anchorage in both regions of web-shear cracking and flexure-shear cracking. A two-phase experimental program was conducted to investigate the anchorage of straight-legged, epoxy-coated stirrups, which included bar pullout tests performed on 13 subassemblage specimens that represented the bottom flanges of prestressed concrete girders, to determine the effectiveness of straight-legged stirrup anchorage in developing yield strains. Additionally, four girder ends were cast with straight-legged stirrup anchorage details and tested in flexure-shear and web-shear. The straight leg stirrup anchorage detail was determined to be acceptable for Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) M and MN shaped girders as nominal shear capacities were exceeded and yield strains were measured in the stirrups prior to failure during each of the tests.

The time-dependent and temperature-dependent behavior of post-tensioned concrete bridges were investigated through a case study of the St. Anthony Falls Bridge, consisting of laboratory testing of concrete time-dependent behaviors (i.e., creep and shrinkage), examination of data from the in situ instrumented bridge, and time-dependent finite element models. Laboratory results for creep and shrinkage were measured for 3.5 years after casting, and the data were best predicted by the 1978 CEB/FIP Model Code provisions. To compare the in situ readings to constant-temperature finite element models, the time-dependent behavior was extracted from the measurements using linear regression. The creep and shrinkage rates of the in situ bridge were found to depend on temperature. An adjusted age using the Arrhenius equation was used to account for the interactions between temperature and time-dependent behavior in the measured data. Results from the time-dependent finite element models incorporating the full construction sequence revealed that the 1990 CEB/FIP Model Code and ACI-209 models best predicted the in situ behavior. Finite element analysis also revealed that problems associated with excessive deflections or development of tension over the lifetime of the bridge would be unlikely. The interactions between temperature and time-dependent behavior were further investigated using a simplified finite element model, which indicated that vertical deflections and stresses can be affected by the cyclic application of thermal gradients. The findings from this study were used to develop an anomaly detection routine for the linear potentiometer data, which was successfully used to identify short-term and long-term artificial anomalies in the data.

The new I-35W Bridge was instrumented incorporating "smart bridge technology" by Figg Engineering Group in conjunction with Flatiron-Manson. The purpose of the instrumentation was to monitor the structure during service, and to use this information to investigate the design and performance of the bridge. Instrumentation included static sensors (vibrating wire strain gages, resistive strain gages and thermistors in the foundation, bridge piers, and superstructure, as well as fiber optic sensors and string potentiometers in the superstructure) and dynamic sensors (accelerometers in the superstructure). Finite element models were constructed, taking into account measured material properties, to further explore the behavior of the bridge. The bridge was tested using static and dynamic truck load tests, which were used, along with continually collected ambient data under changing environmental conditions, to validate the finite element models. These models were applied to gain a better understanding of the structural behavior, and to evaluate the design assumptions presented in the Load Rating Manual for the structure. This report documents the bridge instrumentation scheme, the material testing, finite element model construction methodology, the methodology and results of the truck tests, validation of the models with respect to gravity loads and thermal effects, measured and modeled dynamic modal characteristics of the structure, and documentation of the investigated assumptions from the Load Rating Manual. It was found that the models accurately recreated the response from the instrumented bridge, and that the bridge had behaved as expected during the monitoring period.

The Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) has developed a design for a precast composite slab-span system (PCSSS) to be used in accelerated bridge construction. The system consists of shallow inverted-tee precast beams placed between supports with cast-in-place (CIP) concrete placed on top, forming a composite slab-span system. Suitable for spans between 20 and 60 ft., the MnDOT PCSSS is useful for replacing a large number of aging conventional slab-span bridges throughout the United States highway system. The PCSSS has particular durability, constructability, and economical concerns that affect its value as a viable bridge design. To address these concerns, the performance of existing PCSSS bridges was evaluated and a review of a number of PCSSS design details was conducted. The field inspections demonstrated that design changes made to the PCSSS over its development have improved performance. A parametric design study was also conducted to investigate the effects of continuity design on the economy of the PCSSS. It was recommended that the PCSSS be designed as simply supported rather than as a continuous system.

Vibration based structural health monitoring has become more common in recent years as the required data acquisition and analysis systems become more affordable to deploy. It has been proposed that by monitoring changes in the dynamic signature of a structure; primarily the natural frequency; one can detect damage. This approach to damage detection is made difficult by the fact that environmental factors; such as temperature; have been shown to cause variation in the dynamic signature in a structure; effectively masking those changes due to damage. For future vibration based structural health monitoring systems to be effective; the relationship between environmental factors and natural frequency must be understood such that variation in the dynamic signature due to environmental noise can be removed. A monitoring system on the I-35W St. Anthony Falls Bridge; which crosses the Mississippi River in Minneapolis; MN; has been collecting vibration and temperature data since the structures opening in 2008. This provides a uniquely large data set; in a climate that sees extreme variation in temperature; to test the relationship between the dynamic signature of a concrete structure and temperature. A system identification routine utilizing NExT-ERA/DC is proposed to effectively analyze this large data set; and the relationship between structural temperature and natural frequency is investigated.

As shear requirements for prestressed concrete girders have changed, some structures designed using older specifications do not rate well with current methods. However, signs of shear distress have not been observed in these bridge girders and they are often deemed to be in good condition. The primary objective of this research program was to investigate the accuracy of existing shear distribution factors, which are used to estimate bridge system live load effects on individual girders, and provide recommendations on shear distribution to be used in Minnesota with four components: a full-scale laboratory bridge subjected to elastic and inelastic behavior, field testing of bridges, a numerical parametric study, and integration of results to develop a screening tool to determine which structures benefitted from refined analysis. Laboratory bridge inelastic testing indicated shear force redistribution after cracking and before ultimate failure. Use of elastic distribution factors is conservative for shear distribution at ultimate capacity. Elastic laboratory testing was used to validate the finite element modeling technique and study the behavior of a barrier and end diaphragm, which affected shear distribution; ignoring their effects was conservative. Parametric study results indicated that a ratio of longitudinal stiffness to transverse stiffness could be used as a screening tool. If the stiffness ratio was less than 1.5, shear demand from a simple, conservative grillage analysis may be more accurate than shear demand from AASHTO distribution factor methods. Grillage analysis shear demand results due to permit trucks may also be more accurate, regardless of the screening tool ratio.

Although Mn/DOT inspection reports indicate that prestressed concrete bridge girders in service do not show signs of shear distress, girders rated with the Virtis-BRASS rating tool and Load Factor Rating (LFR) have indicated that a number of the girders have capacities lower than design level capacities. One of the reasons for the discrepancy was suspected to be conservatism of the rating methods (i.e., LFR). Other suspected reasons included potential flaws in the rating tools used by Mn/DOT (i.e., Virtis-BRASS software) including neglecting possible additional shear capacity parameters (e.g., end blocks). As a consequence, the rating methods have made it difficult to discern the cases for which shear capacity may be a real concern. In order to identify the reasons for the discrepancies and inconsistency in rating results relative to observed performance of the prestressed bridge girders, an analytical research program was conducted. The report provides a brief description of the models that provide the basis for the AASHTO shear design provisions and descriptions of the provisions through the 2002 AASHTO Standard specifications. This is followed by a description of the Virtis-BRASS rating tool, which was verified with example bridges provided by Mn/DOT. To investigate prestressed bridge girders within the inventory that might be most at risk for being undercapacity for shear, 54 girders were selected from the inventory for further evaluation. Some of the 54 girders were found to have larger stirrup spacings than required at the time of design. These girders were subsequently rated and evaluated per the 2002 AASHTO Standard Specifications to determine the adequacy of the designs based on the LFR inventory and operating rating methods. Potential sources for increased shear capacity were identified and reviewed.

This report describes the design, instrumentation, construction, and test set-up of two high-strength concrete prestressed bridge girders. The girder specimens were constructed to evaluate prestress transfer length, prestress losses, flexural fatigue, ultimate flexural strength, and ultimate shear strength. Each test girder was a 132.75-foot long, 46-inch deep, Minnesota Department of Transportation (Mn/DOT) 45M girder section reinforced with 46 0.6-inch diameter 270 ksi prestressing strands. The 28-day nominal compressive strength of the girders was 10,500 psi. Each girder was made composite with a 9-inch thick, 48-inch wide composite concrete deck cast on top with a nominal compressive strength of 4000 psi. Girder I used a concrete mix incorporating crushed limestone aggregate while Girder II utilized round glacial gravel aggregate in the mix with the addition of microsilica. In addition, the two test girders incorporated two different end patterns of prestressing--draping versus a combination of draping and debonding--and two different stirrup configurations--standard Mn/DOT U versus a modified U with leg extensions. More than 200 strain gages were imbedded in each girder during construction. Other reports present flexural and shear testing results.

As part of a project at the University of Minnesota to investigate the application of high-strength concrete in prestressed girders, four shear tests were performed on high-strength concrete prestressed girders. Originally constructed in August 1993, the girders, Minnesota Department of Transportation (Mn/DOT) 45M sections were 45 inches deep. Each girder utilized 46 0.6-inch diameter prestressing strands on 2-inch centers. The girders were designed assuming a 28-day compressive strength of 10,500 psi. Later, a 4-foot-wide and 9-inch-thick composite concrete deck was added to each girder using unshored construction techniques. The shear test results were compared with predicted results from ACI 318-95 Simplified Method, ACI 318-95 Detailed Method (AASHTO 1989), Modified ACI 318-95 Procedure, Modified Compression Field Theory (AASHTO LRFD 1994), Modified Truss Theory, Truss Theory, Horizontal Shear Design (AASHTO 1989), and Shear Friction (AASHTO LRFD 1994). The calculated shear capacities were in all cases conservative compared to the actual shear capacity.

This project details the development and evaluation of an acoustic emission (AE) system for monitoring large scale structures, both in the lab and in the field. The system consists of acoustic emission sensors, preamplifiers, filers, an AE monitor, and a digital oscilloscope. The system has been applied successfully to both steel and concrete structures and used to detect brittle fracture and low-cycle fatigue failures in welded steel joints and crack propagation in cover-plated rolled bridge girders, in the field and in the laboratory. The AE system detected initial cracking during the flexural crack testing of two high-strength concrete prestressed bridge girders. The acoustic emission monitoring of bond tests also provided insight into the behavior of the bond between glass fiber reinforced polymer rebar and concrete.

This project monitored and analyzed a Mn/DOT Precast Composite Slab Span System (PCSSS) on a bridge in Center City, MN. The results showed that cracking had initiated in the bridge at the locations of some of the transverse gages in the cast-in-place portion just above the longitudinal flange joint at the midspan and at some of the longitudinal gages near the support. The researchers determined that the cracking was due to restrained shrinkage and environmental effects, rather than vehicular load. A two-span laboratory specimen was also constructed and tested, and the researchers analyzed data from both the field and laboratory before making recommendations.

Researchers conducted an experimental program to investigate the viability of producing self-consolidating concrete (SCC) using locally available aggregate, and the viability of its use in the production of precast prestressed concrete bridge girders for the State of Minnesota. Six precast prestressed bridge girders were cast using four SCC and two conventional concrete mixes. Variations in the mixes included cementitious materials (ASTM Type I and III cement and Class C fly ash), natural gravel and crushed stone as coarse aggregate, and several admixtures. The girders were instrumented to monitor transfer length, camber, and prestress losses. In addition, companion cylinders were cast to measure the compressive strength and modulus of elasticity, and to monitor the creep and shrinkage over time. The viability of using several test methods to evaluate SCC fresh properties was also investigated. The test results indicated that the overall performance of the SCC girders was comparable to that of the conventional concrete girders. The measured, predicted, and calculated prestress losses were generally in good agreement. The study indicated that creep and shrinkage material models developed based on companion cylinder creep and shrinkage data can be used to reasonably predict measured prestress losses of both conventional and SCC prestressed bridge girders.

The shear provisions of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials bridge design code have changed significantly in recent years. The 2004 Load and Resistance Factor Design (LRFD) and 2002 Standard shear provisions for the design of prestressed concrete bridge girders typically require more shear reinforcement than the 1979 Interim shear provisions. The purpose of this research was to determine whether or not bridge girders designed according to the 1979 interim shear provisions were underdesigned for shear and develop a method to identify potentially underdesigned girders. Two shear capacity tests were performed on opposite ends of a bridge girder removed from Mn/DOT Bridge No. 73023. The stirrup spacing in the girder suggested it was designed according to the 1979 Interim shear provisions. The results from the shear tests indicated the girder was capable of holding the required shear demand because the applied shear at failure for both tests was larger than the factored shear strength required by the 2004 LRFD HL-93 and 2002 Standard HS20-44 loading. The results of a parametric study showed that girders designed using the 1979 Interim were most likely to be underdesigned for shear near the support and that the girders most likely to be underdesigned in this region had smaller length to girder spacing ratios.

The I-35W St. Anthony Falls bridge was highly instrumented with over 500 sensors to verify design assumptions; serve as a testbed to examine bridge sensing techniques; and evaluate the effectiveness of different bridge monitoring strategies. The instrumentation deployed on the bridge to investigate the structural behavior included vibrating wire strain gages (VWSGs); thermistors; fiber optic sensors (SOFO); resistance strain gages; linear potentiometers; accelerometers; and corrosion monitoring sensors. This report documented the successes and challenges of the monitoring program over the first ten years of the bridge's life. In particular; the effectiveness of different strain measurement techniques and sensor distributions were addressed. Previous investigations of temperature-dependent and time-dependent behavior were also expanded with the larger data set to better understand the behavior of post-tensioned concrete box girder structures with the potential to impact future designs.

Since the opening of the I-35W Saint Anthony Falls Bridge in 2008; over 500 sensors have been collecting data to better understand the behavior of post-tensioned concrete box girder structures. Recent research in the accelerometers installed on the bridge indicates they can be effectively used in a vibration-based structural health monitoring system; but previous studies have shown that natural frequency alone may not be sufficient to determine the performance of the structure. Vertical displacements were believed to be a simpler performance measure as direct comparisons can be made with design calculations and maintenance guidelines. To avoid the shortcomings of conventional displacement measurement options; this study focuses on using the currently installed accelerometers to estimate the vertical displacements of the southbound bridge. The proposed technique utilizes up-to-date modal parameters within a dual Kalman filter to estimate the vertical displacements of the structure from noisy acceleration measurements. When applied to the I-35W Saint Anthony Falls Bridge; it was found that the dual Kalman filter approach captures only dynamic displacements due to relatively slow loading (e.g.; traffic loading and thermal loading) and the corresponding low-frequency static displacements are likely too small for GPS measurements due to the high stiffness of the structure.

Over time; the southbound exterior girder ends on each side of Pier 4 and Pier 26 of Bridge 27568 suffered significant corrosion damage that exposed transverse reinforcement; prestressing strands in the exterior side of the bottom flange and the sole plate anchorages. The girder ends were repaired in 2013 by encasing supplementary steel reinforcement in shotcrete over a 4 ft. length of the girder. The two repaired girders and two companion girders; removed when the bridge was replaced in 2017; were brought to the University of Minnesota and tested to failure in shear to determine the effectiveness of the repair. The laboratory testing showed that the repair was able to return the girders with significant corrosion damage to the strength of the companion girders; indicating that the repair was effective.