Study of delamination and cracking of multilayered systems used as waterproofing and wearing course solutions for orthotropic steel bridge decks: 10 years feedback

Abstract

Specific products are designed for truck traffic lanes on orthotropic steel bridge decks. These products are multilayered systems that must meet requirements for two functions: waterproofing and wearing course. This paper focuses on a specific test described in the standard NF P 98 286. This durability test reproduces mechanical behavior of the steel deck in the vicinity of a stiffener. A typical test specimen is comprised of a 10-14 mm thickness steel plate covered by a multilayered waterproofing system including asphalt layer from 50 to 80 mm thickness. After surface preparation of the steel plate in a blowing chamber, the test sample is manufactured in laboratory. A waterproofing layer is applied on the steel plate. An asphalt mix is compacted over substrate elements with a wheel track compactor. After sawing, strain sensors are glued on the asphalt mix sides of the specimen near the stiffener. The specimen is subjected to fatigue flexural load at control temperature that produces two kinds of distress: delamination and cracking. The authors present ten years of feedback on the use of this test at Eurovia Research Center in Bordeaux. This paper focuses on the study of the slab calibration and proposes as a conclusion to extend the standard specifications to any slab thickness.