The objective of this study is to analyze the behavior and failure mode of the brackets that support middle slabs in the double-deck tunnels by conducting laboratory experiments. In the double-deck tunnels, the middle slabs are supported by the brackets connecting to the tunnel lining. The brackets are subjected to the loads due to the weight of middle slabs and traffic moving on the middle slabs. Since the damages of brackets are directly associated with the safety problems such as falling down of middle slabs, the appropriate design of brackets is one of the most important factors when designing double-deck tunnels. In this study, the reinforcement design of concrete bracket was performed based on the concrete structure design guide, and the load capacity was evaluated by conducting laboratory loading tests. A small scale concrete bracket specimen was fabricated using the scale factor of 0.5. The reaction wall is normally needed to simulate the tunnel lining in this kind of test; however, two brackets were attached symmetrically to a column, which was assumed to be tunnel lining, to be able to conduct the tests without using the reaction wall. When the bracket specimen was fabricated, the lining part was fabricated first and after curing of the lining part, two brackets were fabricated at the same time at both sides of the lining part. In the tests, the loads were applied to both brackets simultaneously using a loading frame and the displacements were measured at different locations. The main behaviors of the bracket systems such as the vertical displacements of brackets and the displacements at the interfaces between the brackets and lining were measured and the horizontal displacements of the specimen were also measured at the bottom of the lining part to confirm if there was any slip or rotation of the specimen during the tests. The experimental analysis results showed that the initial damage of the specimen was observed at the interface between the bracket and lining with appearing the gap and the failure of the specimen was reached with cracking in the brackets. The load capacity (safety factor) of the bracket specimen to the initial damage based on the design load was 2.5 and to the failure was 3.3.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of various crack inducers to be used in the advanced reinforced concrete pavement (ARCP) by conducting yard tests. Some of cracks are induced in ARCP to reduce the stresses in steel bars and to form more uniformly spaced cracks so that the required steel bar amount can be decreased and at the same time the pavement performance can be improved. In this study, an experimental ARCP was constructed for the length of 22.4 m, width of 1.12 m, and thickness of 0.26 m. The anchor lugs were placed at both ends of ARCP to pretend continuities of the system. 8 crack inducers with a uniform spacing of 2.8 m were installed in different manners when placing concrete, so the test length of the experimental ARCP was 19.6 m. The variables of crack inducers included the shape, material, installed depth, and installing method. The basic shape of the crack inducer represented a round face and a flat opposite face with a height of 50 mm and a width of 10 mm. The slightly different shaped crack inducers were installed for inducing cracks at both ends of ARCP. The crack inducers were primarily made of glass fiber reinforced plastic (GFRP) but a crack was induced using a polyethylene sheet inducer. The installed depths of the crack inducers were 30, 40 and 70 mm to the top of the crack inducer from the pavement surface. Most crack inducers were preinstalled on the transverse steel bar locations before concrete pouring, but 2 crack inducers were installed just after concrete placement when concrete was still fresh. The temperature measurement sensors of i-Buttons and thermocouples were installed at the top, middle and bottom of slab to measure the temperature variations of slab. The displacement transducers were also installed at the crack locations to measure the crack width movements. The experimental results showed that the cracks were induced at all the locations where the crack inducers were placed. In addition to the induced cracks, just one crack was formed naturally. The crack patterns on the surface of pavement were all comparable. The crack width measurement data showed that there were slight differences in the crack width movements among the cracks but all the cracks including both the induced and naturally formed cracks moved little within a 0.1 mm range. Therefore, any type of the crack inducers employed in this study can be used to initiate cracks in ARCP.

PURPOSES : The purpose of this study is to investigate the stresses of the middle slab in a double-deck tunnel owing to the slab lift to replace the underlying elastic pads during maintenance workMETHODS: The middle slab was divided into three different sections: typical section, expansion joint section, and emergency passageway section. Finite element analysis models of these three sections of middle slab were developed, and the stress distribution and maximum stresses were obtained using the models when the middle slab was lifted to replace the underlying elastic pads. Various slab lifting methods were examined in this study such as one-, two-, and multiple-point lifts, distributed lifts, and one or both slab side edge lifts.RESULTS: When the slab side edge is lifted, the longitudinal stresses of the slab are almost the same as the principal stresses. This implies that the governing stresses are the longitudinal stresses. The maximum stresses with both-edge lifts are generally smaller than those with one-edge lifts at all three sections of middle slab.CONCLUSIONS: If the middle slab in a double-deck tunnel is lifted for maintenance, the slab should be lifted at multiple points along the longitudinal direction to reduce the tensile stresses.