Barzin Mobasher Research Group

Ultra-high performance concrete

The group works on UHPC from the mixture to the structural member. Mixtures were developed with the Arizona Department of Transportation for bridge connections, and tension and flexure tests are measured with digital image correlation. For design, the group derives closed-form flexural solutions for reinforced UHPC sections and maintains the inverse analysis in HRC Designer, which recovers the tension law of a UHPC from its flexural test.

Beam test

A UHPC beam test and its inverse analysis

A 101.6 mm UHPC beam in four-point bending, from first crack to failure. Strain, stress and curvature come from the HRC Designer inverse analysis of this beam. The cracks are measured by digital image correlation on the same beam.

Elastic
Load P0
Midspan deflection0
Neutral axis depth0
Crack width0
Cut at x
Cracks
Strain, stress and curvature: HRC Designer, using the tension law from the inverse analysis of this beam. Cracks and crack widths: digital image correlation of the same beam, matched at equal load. Fibres are illustrative.
Test footage

UHPC beam under ASTM C1609 flexure, with strain field

Digital image correlation on a UHPC beam in four-point bending, alongside the flexural stress against net deflection curve. Several strain bands form first, then one opens into a crack and the others unload.

All videos
Field use

ADOT and Maricopa County UHPC Bridge Repairs

Ultra-high-performance concrete developed with ADOT that turns a six-month bridge repair into about ten days, applied at the Palo Verde Bridge and MCDOT Centennial Bridge.

Location
Arizona
Years
2016-present
Partners
Arizona Department of Transportation
Maricopa County DOT
Arizona State University
Reports and papers
Technology Transfer and Field Implementation of Ultra-High-Performance Concrete for New and Retrofitting Rural Bridge Decks (2026)

Design of UHPC Structural Connection Elements for Precast Bridge Decks (2024)

Ultra-High-Performance Concrete (UHPC) for Repair and Rehabilitation of Bridge Deck Connections (2024)

Developing Ultra High-Performance Concrete Mix Designs for Arizona Bridge Element Connections (2019)
Publications

UHPC papers and reports

All publications HRC Designer