Technical Report Documentation Page 1. Report No. FHWA/TX-14/0-6652-1 2. Government Accession No. 3. Recipient’s Catalog No. 4. Title and Subtitle Shear Behavior of Spliced Post-Tensioned Girders 5. Report Date Published April 2015 6. Performing Organization Code 7. Author(s) Andrew Moore, Chris Williams, Dhiaa Al-Tarafany, James Felan, Josh Massey, Trang Nguyen, Katie Schmidt, David Wald, Oguzhan Bayrak, James Jirsa, and Wassim Ghannoum 8. Performing Organization Report No. 0-6652-1 9. Performing Organization Name and Address Center for Transportation Research The University of Texas at Austin 1616 Guadalupe Street, Suite 4.202 Austin, TX 78701 10. Work Unit No. (TRAIS) 11. Contract or Grant No. 0-6652 12. Sponsoring Agency Name and Address Texas Department of Transportation Research and Technology Implementation Office P.O. Box 5080 Austin, TX 78763-5080 13. Type of Report and Period Covered Technical Report 09/01/2010-08/31/2014 14. Sponsoring Agency Code 15. Supplementary Notes Project performed in cooperation with the Texas Department of Transportation and the Federal Highway Administration. 16. Abstract By its nature a spliced girder must contain a number of post tensioning tendons throughout its length. The focus of the experimental program described in this dissertation is the evaluation of the strength and serviceability of post- tensioned girders loaded in shear, and, more specifically, how a post-tensioning duct located in the web of a girder affects the shear transfer mechanism of a bulb-tee cross-section. Due to the limited number of tests in the literature conducted on full-scale post-tensioned girders, eleven shear tests were performed on seven prestressed concrete bulb-tee girder specimens. Of these tests, ten were conducted on specimens that contained a post-tensioning duct within their web and additional pretensioning reinforcement in their bottom and top flanges. The remaining shear test was conducted on a control specimen that did not have a post- tensioning tendon but contained the same pretensioning reinforcement as the post-tensioned girder specimens. The behavioral characteristics of these eleven test specimens at service level shear forces and at their ultimate shear strengths were evaluated in regards to five primary experimental variables: (i) the presence of a post-tensioning duct, (ii) post-tensioning duct material (plastic or steel), (iii) web-width, (iv) duct diameter, and (v) the transverse reinforcement ratio. The findings of this experimental study are described in detail within this dissertation, but can be summarized by the following two points. (i) No differences were observed in the ultimate or service level shear behavior in girders containing plastic grouted ducts when compared to those containing steel grouted ducts and (ii) The current procedure of reducing the effective web width to account for the presence of a post-tensioning duct is ineffective because it addresses the incorrect shear transfer mechanism. A method that correctly addresses the reduction in shear strength due to the presence of a post-tensioning duct was developed and verified using the tests performed during this experimental program and tests reported in the literature. 17. Key Words Prestressed Shear, Post-Tensioned Shear, Spliced Girder, Post-Tensioning Ducts, Shear 18. Distribution Statement No restrictions. This document is available to the public through the National Technical Information Service, Springfield, Virginia 22161; www.ntis.gov. 19. Security Classif. (of report) Unclassified 20. Security Classif. (of this page) Unclassified 21. No. of pages 220 22. Price Form DOT F 1700.7 (8-72) Reproduction of completed page authorized