Use of carbon-reinforced shotcrete to increase the shear resistance of prestressed-concrete girders: Market potential in bridge infrastructure

摘要

The use of textile-reinforced shotcrete opens up new opportunities to upgrade existing prestressed-concrete bridges. Key benefits of this method include its flexibility and low degree of traffic disruption. To date, two girder tests were performed to apply this strengthening method, which resulted in a significant increase in static and cyclical shear resistance. Further stages of the research will include the development of a strengthening concept for existing bridges that includes practical instructions and requirements for upgrading as well as design models to quantitatively assess the degree of reinforcement.