Retrofitting Shear Cracks in Reinforced Concrete Pier Caps Using Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymers

The Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) documented the appearance of excessive cracks in the reinforced concrete pier cap overhangs of State Highway Bridges 19855 and 19856. As a part of this study, the ultimate capacity of the pier cap overhangs was estimated by comparing predicted capacities calculated using standard design specifications to experimental results published in the worldwide literature. It was determined that the ultimate capacity of the pier cap overhangs was more than sufficient to assure that a cracked, but undeteriorated, pier cap is not prone to structural failure. An estimate of the initial cracking load of the pier cap overhangs was also created to determine what changes to pier cap design would be required to prevent future overhangs from cracking.