Improved removal efficiency of partial bridge deck repair patches using the saw and patch method

ABSTRACT

Partial-depth repair is a concrete bridge deck rehabilitation method used when the deterioration is limited to the top half of the slab. The process includes removing the deteriorated concrete in small patch areas and replacing it with new repair material. While many advances have been made in repair material products to decrease the traffic closure times during curing, the patch preparation time still requires a significant amount of time which delays the repair time and adversely affects the transportation network. The most commonly used technique is the saw and patch due to its advantages which include cost-effectiveness, the capability to remove concrete from confined areas, and familiar to construction workers. In contrast, this method has two disadvantages; it is time consuming and labor intensive. Therefore, this study aims to decrease the patch preparation time by experimentally evaluating different sub-techniques in the saw and patch method to develop a specific methodology that reduces patch preparation time. The sub-techniques studied are patch discretization, sawing and jackhammering times, investigating four different discretized sawing and jackhammering methods in terms of removal time, equipment usage, damage to the surrounding concrete, and the labor efforts. The results of this study identify a time optimal sawing and jackhammering technique.

KEYWORDS:

• Saw and patch method
• concrete removal techniques
• partial-depth removal
• bridge deck

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to acknowledge the Mountain-Plains Consortium (MPC)-University Transportation Center sponsored by the U.S. Department of Transportation for providing the research funding (Grant # 69A3551747108) to support this study.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the The Mountain-Plains Consortium (MPC)-University Transportation Center sponsored by the U.S. Department of Transportation [69A3551747108].