The Liberty Bridge is in Budapest, over the Danube River. This bridge was the 3rd which has made contact between Buda and Pest, at the end of 19th century. On the bridge there are railways, roadways and two sidewalks. In the middle of bridge lay the tram rails, and outside are the roadways.
During the renovation, the concrete bridge-deck was designed to work with the steel elements as a composite structure. The composite structure requires keeping the level of shrinkage of the concrete deck low.
The Concrete Division of Sika Hungary Ltd. recommended two different solutions. To select the best solution, the structural engineers undertook a preliminary examination by the Department of Construction Materials and Engineering Geology of Budapest University of Technology and Economics (BME).
The lab of University tested concrete cubes and beams:
- 150 x 150 x 150 mm cubes for compressive strength and freezing tests
- 70 x 70 x 250 mm beams for flexural test and frost resistance and shrinkage measurements
- 200 x 200 x 120 mm for waterproofing tests
The test elements were tested after different storage conditions such as:
- Under water
- Roll up in foil
- In humidity atmosphere; 20°C temperature and 65% relative humidity
- With curing agent
Thanks to the tests, the right mix of concrete was chosen and the pouring and hardening of the deck was finished without cracks on surface. The structural engineers and general contractor were satisfied with the quality of concrete.
03 November 2016
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