Stay-in-place (S IP) precast, prestressed concrete deck panels serve as permanent formwork and also house positive moment reinforcement. In addition, prestressing results in deck slabs designed to have uncracked bottom fibers under service loading and, thus, improved durability. Despite these positive attributes, the fu ll potential of SIP panel systems has not been realized, partly due to the drawbacks discussed in this paper. This paper presents an improved SIP precast, prestressed concrete panel system called the NUDECK. This system eliminates the major drawbacks of conventional SIP concrete precast panels while maintaining their structural and economic efficiencies. The precast panel covers the entire width of a bridge, resulting in elimination of the need for forming of the overhangs. The system also reduces the time and labor required for installing a larger number of individual panels between girder lines. The proposed panel is unique in that it is continuous transversely and longitudinally, and it utilizes reinforcing bars without concrete to preserve the strand prestress across girder lines. No proprietary materials are used in producing the panels.
