Performance - Related Specifications of Concrete Bridge Superstructures

The contents of this report reflect the views of the authors, who are responsible for the facts and the accuracy of the data presented herein. The contents do not necessarily reflect the official views or policies of the Indiana Department of Transportation or the Federal Highway Administration at the time of publication. This report does not constitute a standard, specification, or regulation. Introduction The development of Performance Related Specifications (PRS) requires the identification of key performance levels for a given structural system. The first attempt to develop a methodology for PRS can be traced to 1980 when the Federal Highway administration (FHWA) instituted a new research program category. The main two objectives of the program were: 1) To provide a more rational basis for payment reduction plans. 2) To develop additional specifications related to the performance of flexible and rigid pavement structures. In the early and mid-1980s, the FHWA, the National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP), and the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) began a cooperative effort searching for supporting data needed for the development of PRS. The idea was to develop performance models that would allow relating the material and construction testing parameters collected at the time of construction to the future performance of the complete project. However, it was concluded that the existing databases were inadequate to derive the needed performance models. A known example of a PRS is the one developed for Portland Cement Concrete (PCC) pavements by Eres Consultants, Inc. and the FHWA (Darter et. al., 1998) in a cooperative effort. In this study, the overall objectives of a methodology for PRS were not completely fulfilled due to the lack of adequate supporting information in the existent databases to construct accurate performance predictive models. As a result, the proposed PRS was presented only as a methodology providing a more rational basis for payment plans. The objective of the research study was to develop the essential components of a PRS for concrete bridge superstructures for application in the state of Indiana. The work conducted in this research project is presented in four volumes. Volume 1 summarizes the work conducted on the identification of performance levels and key parameters, and the development of acceptance criteria are addressed in Volume 1. The main objective of this volume is to present a proposed methodology for a PRS for concrete bridge superstructures. Volume 2 presents the research …