ABSTRACT
Reinforced concrete (RC) was first introduced into bridge engineering in the late nineteenth century, and it has become a major material for bridges ever since then for its versatility, flexibility, and durability. RC bridges were widely used during the reconstruction of Europe after World War II. In general, a bridge that mainly uses RC for its major structural components can be categorized as an RC bridge. For example, RC arch bridges, RC beam-slab bridges, and RC rigid frame bridges are all considered as RC bridges. Because of cracking, only partial of a concrete section is intact and functional, the RC sectional strength to resist moment, shear, and tensile is much lower than that of a prestressed concrete (PC). The cracking in the tensile area, which is allowed in RC and actually does exist in services state, poses potential corrosion risk on reinforce steels and thus deterioration of a cross section as a whole. The spanning capacity of an RC bridge is limited to short to middle spans, and its application also depends on the site environment.
