Experimental Characterization of Prefabricated Bridge Deck Panels Prepared with Prestressed and Sustainable Ultra-High Performance Concrete  
[PERSON]  
1 Department of Civil Engineering, University of Engineering and Technology, Lahore PK 54890, Pakistan; [EMAIL_ADDRESS] (M.N.Z. ); [EMAIL_ADDRESS] (M.A.S. ); [EMAIL_ADDRESS] (M.M.S.) 2 Civil Engineering Department, Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University, Suzhou 215123, China  
2 [PERSON]  
(FRP). First developed in France in the 1990s [7], UHPC comprises of steel fibers, silica fumes, ground quartz, and superplasticizer, in addition to cement and sand [8; 9]. It has no coarse aggregate. In comparison to regular concrete, UHPC has high flowability, high resistance to cracking, very low permeability, and low shrinkage/creep properties [10]. The minimum compressive strength is more than 150 MPa, and good tensile strength exceeds 5 MPa. The modulus of elasticity crosses 46 GPa [11; 12]. A low-profile asymmetric waffle deck system was developed by [PERSON] et al. [5] using UHPC and HSS. The self-weight of this system was 1.55 kN/m\({}^{2}\), which was further optimized to 1.0 kN/m\({}^{2}\) by [PERSON] et al. [6]. These systems were tested with single and multiple ribs, both in simple-span and two-span configurations. Static and dynamic testing proved their potential and feasibility to replace the conventional bridge decks for fixed and moveable bridges. [PERSON] et al. [13], for the first time, combined UHPC with carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) rebars to develop waffle bridge deck panels. The idea was to offset the brittle behavior of CFRP with the ductile nature of UHPC. The study confirmed that with only 102 mm overall depth and self-weight of 0.9 kN/m\({}^{2}\), the deck panels meet the strength and serviceability requirements for a stringer spacing of 1.2 m. [PERSON] et al. [3] developed precast deck panels by combining UHPC with FRP laminates. No reinforcement in the form of rebars was used. With an overall depth of 127 mm and self-weight of 0.5-0.6 kN/m\({}^{2}\), the system met the strength and serviceability requirement (\(\Delta_{\text{all}}\) = L/800) of AASHTO LRFD [14]. UHPC materials have also been used in other bridge-related applications, such as serving as the bonding material for precast prestressed concrete bridge girders [15]. It was concluded that UHPC connections with short, straight rebar provided considerable resistance to separation and transferred the load effectively under seismic condition. In another study, UHPC material was used to provide the longitudinal connection between lightweight bridge decks and steel beams to form composite bridge girder [16]. The T-shape connections proved to perform better than the traditional connection due to the better control of crack width. Attempts have also been made to introduce environmentally friendly materials in bridge deck applications. For instance, Venancio [17] tested half-scale partial-depth precast bridge deck panels developed with sustainable UHPC. Quartz powder as a whole and a fraction of fine sand content were replaced with ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBS). UHPC panels were tested in flexure and shear, and comparison was made with reinforced concrete control panels. Panels were prepared with 51 and 76 mm depths. UHPC with conventional mild-steel reinforcement achieved the highest ultimate load. UHPC panels tested under shear configuration also failed in flexure, demonstrating excellent performance under shear force. Another way to increase the sustainability of UHPC material is by introducing coarse aggregates. Coarse aggregates have been used in various concretes to enhance the economic and technical advantages of the cementitious products [18; 19; 20], and their long-term performance has been verified [21]. Prior research also demonstrated that the UHPC material with coarse aggregate and 2% volume fraction of steel fiber could provide as much as 5.5 times of shear resistance of the conventional RC beams with the same size and configuration [22].