Cracks in bridge decks can be due to many factors related to environmental effects, chemical reactions, and structural loads. Careful selection of materials and mixture proportions can minimize cracking to some degree. To reduce cracking, shrinkage must be reduced; however, cracking also depends on other factors such as modulus of elasticity, creep, tensile strength, and restraint. A low modulus of elasticity and high creep help to minimize cracking. Lightweight concrete (LWC) has a lower modulus of elasticity, higher inelastic strains, a lower coefficient of thermal expansion, a more continuous contact zone between the aggregate and the paste, and more water in the pores of aggregates for continued internal curing when compared to normal weight concrete. These properties tend to reduce cracking in the concrete and are highly desirable in bridge decks. The Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) has been successfully using LWC in bridge structures. In most of these bridges, the coarse aggregate has been lightweight and the fine aggregate normal weight natural sand. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of LWC in reducing cracks in bridge decks. Seven bridges from six VDOT districts were included in the study. Three bridge decks each were constructed in 2012 and 2013, and one was constructed in 2014. The results showed that bridge decks with fewer cracks than were typical of decks constructed with normal weight aggregate over the past 20 years or no cracks can be constructed with LWC mixtures. The study recommends that LWC with a maximum cementitious content of 650 lb/yd3 be used in VDOT bridge deck concrete mixtures.

"TRB's National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) Report 733: High-Performance/High-Strength Lightweight Concrete for Bridge Girders and Decks presents proposed changes to the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials' Load and Resistance Factor Design (LRFD) bridge design and construction specifications to address the use of lightweight concrete in bridge girders and decks. The proposed specifications are designed to help highway agencies evaluate between comparable designs of lightweight and normal weight concrete bridge elements so that an agency's ultimate selection will yield the greatest economic benefit. The attachments contained in the research agency's final report provide elaborations and detail on several aspects of the research. Attachments A and B provide proposed changes to AASHTO LRFD bridge design and bridge construction specifications, respectively; these are included in the print and PDF version of the report. Attachments C through R are available for download below. Attachments C, D, and E contain a detailed literature review, survey results, and a literature summary and the approved work plan, respectively. Attachment C; Attachment D ; Attachment E; Attachments F through M provide details of the experimental program that were not able to be included in the body of this report. Attachment F; Attachment G; Attachment H; Attachment I; Attachment J; Attachment K; Attachment L; Attachment M. Attachments N through Q present design examples of bridges containing lightweight concrete and details of the parametric study. Attachment N; Attachment O; Attachment P; Attachment Q. Attachment R is a detailed reference list."--Publication information.

NCHRP Report 566 is designed to help facilitate the use of supplementary cementitious materials to enhance durability of concrete used in highway construction, especially bridge decks. The report includes a methodology for selecting optimum concrete mixture proportions that focuses on durability aspects of concrete and the performance requirements for specific environmental conditions. The methodology is presented in a text format and as a computational tool, in the form of a Visual Basic?driven Microsoft Excel spreadsheet. Background information and a hypothetical case study was published as NCHRP Web-Only Document 110: Supplementary Cementitious Materials to Enhance Durability of Concrete Bridge Decks. The Statistical Experimental Design for Optimizing Concrete (SEDOC), the computational tool for the concrete mixture optimization methodology, and the user?s guide are available in a ZIP format for download.

Transverse cracking of concrete bridge decks is problematic in numerous states. Cracking has been identified in the negative and positive moment regions of bridges and can appear shortly after opening the structure to live loads. To improve the service life of the bridge deck as well as decrease maintenance costs, changes to current construction practices in Indiana are being considered. A typical bridge deck was instrumented which incorporated the following: increased reinforcement amounts, decreasing reinforcement spacing, and high-performance, low-shrinkage concrete. The low shrinkage concrete was achieved using a ternary concrete mix. The objective of this research was to determine the performance, particularly in terms of transverse cracking and shrinkage, of a bridge incorporating design details meant to reduce cracking. Based on measurements from the bridge, it was determined that maximum tensile strains experienced in the concrete were not sufficient to initiate cracking. An on-site inspection was performed to confirm that cracking had not initiated. The data was analyzed and compared with the behavior of a similarly constructed bridge built with nearly identical reinforcing details, but with a more conventional concrete to evaluate the effect of the HPC. Based on this study, it was observed that full-depth transverse cracks did not occur in the structure and that the use of HPC lowered the magnitude of restrained shrinkage strains and resulting tensile stresses.

TRB's National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) Synthesis 423: Long-Term Performance of Polymer Concrete for Bridge Decks addresses a number of topics related to thin polymer overlays (TPOs). Those topics include previous research, specifications, and procedures on TPOs; performance of TPOs based on field applications; the primary factors that influence TPO performance; current construction guidelines for TPOs related to surface preparation, mixing and placement, consolidation, finishing, and curing; repair procedures; factors that influence the performance of overlays, including life-cycle cost, benefits and costs, bridge deck condition, service life extension, and performance; and successes and failures of TPOs, including reasons for both.

Cracking is a major problem with newly placed concrete decks. These decks tend to develop full depth, transverse cracks and partial depth longitudinal cracks within a few months of the concrete being placed. A literature review showed that several other states had experienced similar problems. A review of data from Ohio bridge decks showed weak correlations between deck cracking and slump, time of year when the deck was placed, shrinkage, chloride permeability and compressive strength, but there was no clear relationship between cracking and any of these properties. Data also suggested that using a coarse aggregate with an absorption> 1% may help mitigate deck cracking but will not always stop it. As part of this study, 3 bridge decks were instrumented. One was a standard class "S" concrete deck and the other two were high performance concrete. The class "S" deck showed only hairline cracking after 1 year, but transverse cracking occurred in the HPC decks. Instruments were placed in the decks to monitor strains. From the data, it appears that cracking is caused by several factors. High heat of hydration caused the plastic concrete to expand. When the concrete sets and cools, tensile stressed develop. Further tensile stresses develop through drying shrinkage. Restraining the deck against normal thermal movement contributes to additional tensile stress. Autogeneous shrinkage, where high heats of hydration cause water evaporation during hydration, and plastic shrinkage may cause more tensile stress. Recommendations for mitigating cracking include using lower cement contents, adding pozzolans and retarders, using slightly higher water/cement ratios, using larger aggregates, taking steps to limit shrinkage and eliminating restraints.

Restrained shrinkage cracking of concrete bridge decks creates a significant durability problem. Major admixture suppliers in the United States have introduced a new category of chemical admixtures called shrinkage reducing admixtures (SRAs). SRAs work by reducing the surface tension of pore water and thereby decreasing the capillary stress and shrinkage induced by drying. Several studies have reported that using SRAs in concrete mixtures is one of the most effective ways of reducing shrinkage cracking. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of SRAs in reducing drying shrinkage in Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) concrete mixtures and thus reducing cracks in bridge decks. Nine bridges located in VDOT's Northern Virginia, Staunton, and Fredericksburg districts were selected for study. Three different SRA products were used. With the exception of one mixture, the maximum cementitious content was limited to 600 lb/yd3. Fresh and hardened concrete properties were determined for each mixture, and field placement details were documented. The results showed that low cementitious concrete with SRA was effective in minimizing bridge deck cracking. The study showed that bridges with fewer and narrower cracks or no cracks can be constructed and that proper construction practices are needed to reduce bridge deck cracking. The study recommends the use of SRA with a lower cementitious content in VDOT bridge deck concrete mixtures. A VDOT special provision was developed for the future use of SRA in concrete mixtures.