Flexural behavior of an innovative dovetail UHPC joint in composite bridges under negative bending moment

The 5th Nanjing Yangtze River Bridge is a three-tower cable-stayed bridge with a main span of 600 m and a composite cross section consisting of a steel box girder- and precast ultra-high performance concrete (UHPC) deck slab. The precast UHPC slabs are connected using cast-in-place UHPC, and joints between the UHPC slabs are prone to cracking under negative bending moment. This paper investigates the flexural behavior of an innovative dovetail UHPC joint in seven UHPC slabs under negative bending moment. An innovative method using steel wire mesh is presented to enhance the interface between precast and cast-in-place UHPC at the joints. Test parameters of the UHPC slabs included interface treatment method, joint material, reinforcing bar overlapping form, and prestressing level. The steel wire mesh generated fibers that bridge the interface between the precast and cast-in-place UHPC, thus significantly enhancing the mechanical performance of the jointed UHPC slabs: (1) the nominal cracking strength was increased by 2.4 MPa; (2) the post-cracking stiffness was retained at about 80% of the initial stiffness; (3) the ultimate stiffness was retained at about 35% of the initial stiffness; and (4) closely-spaced multiple cracks occurred at the joints. A new ductility index defined as the ratio of the ultimate deflection and the flexural cracking deflection is proposed to characterize the post-cracking ductility. The research findings are useful in understanding and improving the flexural behaviors of UHPC bridge decks subjected to negative bending moment.