Investigating the durability and sustainability of materials used in Accelerated Bridge Construction (ABC)

Abstract

Accelerated bridge construction (ABC) is one of the advanced engineering techniques that is gaining popularity worldwide, presenting advantageous benefits to the modern in terms of minimizing traffic disruption, increasing safety, reducing construction costs, and shortening construction duration. However, current concrete materials are falling behind in meeting the future expectations and demands for sustainability and durability advancement in bridge engineering. Ultra-high-performance concrete (UHPC) is one of the promising concrete materials that present outstanding performance due to its superior mechanical and durability properties that will address various issues in bridge engineering, providing longer serviceability and enhanced durability in severe weather conditions. The high initial costs and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions associated with the implementation of UHPC at the early construction stages present some concerns leading to limiting the widespread adoption of this product. This paper investigates the potential of UHPC versus other concrete materials, highlighting their durability and sustainability performance to seek its viability as cost-effective and green material option. The long-life cycle cost and environmental assessments show that UHPC has the potential to be one of the most durable and sustainable concrete materials due to the decreased costs associated with reduced concrete volume, maintenance frequency and CO2 footprint emissions over a long-time range.