Cyclic load testing for integrity evaluation of prestressed concrete girders

Abstract

This study is focused on the performance and validation of the 24-hour load test (24h LT) method and the cyclic load test (CLT) method as applied to full-scale lightweight and normalweight self-consolidating prestressed concrete girders. This study examines data obtained from the four-point loading tests of six full-scale T-girders and applies the current criteria from these methodologies to evaluate the presence of damage and structural integrity. The experimental results indicate that the recovery criteria of the 24h LT method were insensitive to damage and hence did not provide a satisfactory integrity assessment of the members. Also, the permanency and repeatability criteria of the CLT were insensitive to damage for the girders studied. The global integrity parameter (GIP) based on the deviation from linearity criterion from the CLT is proposed for the quantitative assessment of the level of damage in prestressed concrete girders, and the results indicate good correlation with the experimental data. © 2012, American Concrete Institute.