Development of Design Guidelines for Structural Components of Novel UHPC Bridge Structure

加拿大的许多现有桥梁都是用传统混凝土(也称为水泥)建造的，这种混凝土的强度低，只有25-40兆帕。这种混凝土也缺乏耐久性，因此，由传统混凝土制成的桥梁在冬季盐雾和加拿大的极端天气下表现不佳。因此，用传统混凝土建造的桥梁很容易损坏，导致频繁的交通中断维修、高昂的维护成本和缩短的使用寿命。NSERC研究项目的行业合作伙伴是FACCA Inc.，这是一家领先的加拿大桥梁建设和桥梁维修公司。FACCA开发了一种超高性能混凝土(UHPC)，与传统混凝土相比，它的强度更高(强度为150-160兆帕)，并具有优越的耐久性能。FACCA已成功地将这种超高性能混凝土用于较小的示范项目，如桥面铺装(顶层薄层)和桥梁维修工程。FACCA希望扩大UHPC的使用范围，开发一种新颖的、革命性的UHPC桥梁建设技术，使FACCA具有竞争优势，并有机会赢得更多桥梁建设项目。因此，NSERC项目的成果将帮助加拿大公司FACCA Inc.实现增长，创造新的就业机会，并促进加拿大经济。这种新的桥梁建造技术还将为所有加拿大工程师建造超高性能混凝土桥梁打开一扇新的大门，这些桥梁将具有弹性，并提供更好的质量控制和更好的美学。这项新技术还将缩短施工时间，减少所需材料，从而减少二氧化碳排放，改善加拿大的空气质量。这种新的桥梁建造方法还将使加拿大桥梁更不容易受损，并延长这些桥梁的使用寿命，为加拿大纳税人节省资金。这项研究工作将在四年内由温莎大学的三名学生在温莎大学的Sreekanta Das博士和FACCA Inc.的Philp Loh先生的监督下进行。

Many existing bridges in Canada are built with traditional concrete (also known as cement), which has a low strength of 25-40 MPa. Such concrete also lacks durability properties and hence, bridges made of traditional concrete perform poorly when exposed to winter salt spray and the extreme weather of Canada. Hence, bridges built with traditional concrete are susceptible to damages resulting in frequent traffic interruptions for repairs, a high maintenance cost, and a reduced service life. The industry partner of this NSERC research project is Facca Inc., a leading Canadian company for bridge construction and bridge repair. Facca has developed an ultra-high-performance concrete (UHPC), which is much stronger (strength of 150-160 MPa) and has superior durability properties compared to traditional concrete. Facca has successfully used this UHPC for smaller demonstration projects such as for overlay (top thin layer) of bridge decks and bridge repair works. Facca would like to extend the use of the UHPC for developing a novel and revolutionising UHPC bridge construction technology that will give Facca a competitive edge and the opportunity to win more bridge construction projects. Hence, the outcomes of this NSERC project will help Canadian company, Facca Inc. to grow, create new jobs, and boost Canadian economy. This new bridge construction technology will also open a new door for all Canadian engineers in constructing UHPC bridges that will be resilient and offer much better quality control and a better aesthetic. This new technology will also reduce the construction time and require less materials and thus, will reduce overall carbon dioxide emissions improving Canada's air quality. This new bridge construction method will also make Canadian bridges less susceptible to damages and extend the service life of these bridges, saving Canadian taxpayers' money. This research work will be executed in four years by three students at the University of Windsor under the supervision of Dr. Sreekanta Das at the University of Windsor and Mr. Philp Loh at Facca Inc.