Guide Specifications for

Structural Design with

ULTRA-HIGH PERFORMANCE
CONCRETE

1st Edition | March 2024

 Guide Specifications for Structural Design with Ultra-High Performance Concrete

TABLE OF CONTENTS
SECTION 1: SCOPE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-1
1.1—General. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-1
1.2—Design Philosophy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-2
1.3—Loads and Load Combinations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-3
1.4—Limitations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-3
SECTION 2: DEFINITIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-1
SECTION 3: NOTATION. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-1
SECTION 4: MATERIAL PROPERTIES. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-1
4.1—GENERAL. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-1
4.2—ULTRA-HIGH PERFORMANCE CONCRETE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-1
4.2.1—General. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-1
4.2.2—Unit Weight. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-2
4.2.3—Modulus of Elasticity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-2
4.2.4—Compression Behavior. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-2
4.2.4.1—Compressive Strength. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-2
4.2.4.2—Ultimate Compressive Strain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-3
4.2.4.3—Compression Design Model. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-3
4.2.5—Tension Behavior. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-4
4.2.5.1—Effective Cracking Strength . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-4
4.2.5.2—Crack Localization Strength. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-4
4.2.5.3—Crack Localization Strain. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-4
4.2.5.4—Tension Design Models. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-4
4.2.6—Poisson’s Ratio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-5
4.2.7—Coefficient of Thermal Expansion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-6
4.2.8—Creep and Shrinkage. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-6
4.2.8.1—General . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-6
4.2.8.2—Creep. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-6
4.2.8.3—Shrinkage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-8
4.3—REINFORCING STEEL. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-8
4.4—PRESTRESSING STEEL. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-8
SECTION 5: LIMIT STATES AND DESIGN METHODOLOGIES. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-1
5.1—GENERAL. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-1
5.2—SERVICE LIMIT STATE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-1
5.2.1—Prestressed Components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-1
5.2.1.1—Imposed Deformations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-1
5.2.1.2—Prestressing Steel Stress Limits. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-1
5.2.1.3—UHPC Stress Limits. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-1
5.2.1.3.1—Temporary Stresses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-1
5.2.1.3.2—Service Limit State Stresses. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-1
5.2.2—Non-Prestressed Components With or Without Reinforcement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-2
5.2.2.1—Section Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-2
5.2.2.2—Tensile Strain Limit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-2

vii

© 2024 by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials.

All rights reserved. Duplication is a violation of applicable law.
viii Guide Specifications for Structural Design with Ultra-High Performance Concrete, First Edition

5.2.2.3—Compressive Stress Limit. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-2

5.2.2.4—Principal Tensile Stress Limit. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-3
5.2.2.5—Reinforcing Steel Stress Limit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-3
5.2.3—Components Subjected to Cyclic Stresses. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-3
5.3—FATIGUE LIMIT STATE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-3
5.4—STRENGTH LIMIT STATE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-4
5.4.1—General. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-4
5.4.2—Resistance Factors. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-4
5.4.3—Stability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-5
5.5—EXTREME EVENT LIMIT STATE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-5
SECTION 6: DESIGN FOR FLEXURAL AND AXIAL FORCE EFFECTS—B-REGIONS. . . . . . . . 6-1
6.1—ASSUMPTIONS FOR SERVICE AND FATIGUE LIMIT STATES. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-1
6.2—ASSUMPTIONS FOR STRENGTH AND EXTREME EVENT LIMIT STATES. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-1
6.3—FLEXURAL MEMBERS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-2
6.3.1—Strain Compatibility Approach. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-3
6.3.2—Flexural Resistance. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-4
6.3.2.1—Factored Flexural Resistance. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-4
6.3.2.2—Nominal Flexural Resistance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-4
6.3.2.3—Curvature Ductility Ratio. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-5
6.3.3—Minimum Reinforcement. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-7
6.3.4—Moment Redistribution. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-7
6.3.5—Deformations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-7
6.4—COMPRESSION MEMBERS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-8
6.5—BEARING. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-8
6.6—TENSION MEMBERS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-8
6.6.1—Resistance to Tension. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-8
6.6.2—Resistance to Combined Tension and Flexure. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-9
SECTION 7: DESIGN FOR SHEAR AND TORSION—B-REGIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-1
7.1—DESIGN PROCEDURES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-1
7.2—GENERAL REQUIREMENTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-1
7.2.1—General. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-1
7.2.2—Transfer and Development Length . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-3
7.2.3—Regions Requiring Transverse Reinforcement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-3
7.2.4—Types of Transverse Reinforcement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-3
7.2.5—Minimum Transverse Reinforcement. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-3
7.2.6—Maximum Spacing of Transverse Reinforcement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-4
7.2.7—Design and Detailing Requirements. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-4
7.2.8—Shear Stress on UHPC. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-4
7.3—SECTIONAL DESIGN MODEL. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-6
7.3.1—General. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-6
7.3.2—Sections Near Supports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-6
7.3.3—Nominal Shear Resistance. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-6

© 2024 by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials.

All rights reserved. Duplication is a violation of applicable law.
Guide Specifications for Structural Design with Ultra-High Performance Concrete, First Edition ix

7.3.4—Procedures for Determining Shear Resistance Parameters θ and f v,α. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-7

7.3.4.1—General Approach. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-8
7.3.4.2—Simplified Approach. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-11
7.3.5—Longitudinal Reinforcement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-11
7.3.6—Sections Subjected to Combined Shear and Torsion. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-13
7.3.6.1—Transverse Reinforcement. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-13
7.3.6.2—Torsional Resistance. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-13
7.3.6.3—Longitudinal Reinforcement. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-14
7.4—INTERFACE SHEAR—TRANSFER SHEAR FRICTION. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-14
7.4.1—General. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-14
7.4.2—Minimum Area of Interface Shear Reinforcement. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-14
7.4.3—Interface Shear Resistance. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-15
7.4.4—Cohesion and Friction Factors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-16
7.4.5—Computation of the Factored Interface Shear Force for Girder/Slab Bridges. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-18
7.4.6—Interface Shear in Box Girder Bridges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-18
SECTION 8: DESIGN OF D-REGIONS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-1
8.1—GENERAL. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-1
SECTION 9: PRESTRESSING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-1
9.1—GENERAL DESIGN CONSIDERATION. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-1
9.1.1—General. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-1
9.1.2—Design UHPC Strengths. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-1
9.1.3—Section Properties. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-1
9.1.4—Crack Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-1
9.1.5—Buckling. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-1
9.2—STRESS LIMITATIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-2
9.2.1—Stresses Due to Imposed Deformation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-2
9.2.2—Stress Limitations for Prestressing Steel. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-2
9.2.3—Stress Limitations for UHPC. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-2
9.3—PRESTRESS LOSSES. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-2
9.4—DETAILS FOR PRE-TENSIONING. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-2
9.4.1—Minimum Spacing of Pre-Tensioning Strand. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-2
9.4.2—Maximum Spacing of Pre-Tensioning Strand in Slabs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-3
9.4.3—Development of Pre-Tensioning Strand. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-3
9.4.3.1—General . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-3
9.4.3.2—Bonded Strands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-3
9.4.3.3—Debonded Strands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-4
9.4.4—Pre-Tensioned Anchorage Zones . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-4
9.4.4.1—Splitting Resistance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-4
9.4.4.2—Confinement Reinforcement. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-5
9.4.5—Temporary Strands. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-5
SECTION 10: REINFORCEMENT. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-1
10.1—UHPC COVER. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-1
10.2—HOOKS AND BENDS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-1

© 2024 by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials.

All rights reserved. Duplication is a violation of applicable law.
x Guide Specifications for Structural Design with Ultra-High Performance Concrete, First Edition

10.3—SPACING OF REINFORCEMENT. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-2

10.4—TRANSVERSE REINFORCEMENT FOR COMPRESSION MEMBERS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-2
10.5—TRANSVERSE REINFORCEMENT FOR FLEXURAL MEMBERS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-2
10.6—SHRINKAGE AND TEMPERATURE REINFORCEMENT. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-3
10.7—REINFORCEMENT FOR HOLLOW RECTANGULAR COMPRESSION MEMBERS. . . . . . . . . 10-3
10.8—DEVELOPMENT AND SPLICES OF REINFORCEMENT. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-3
10.8.1—General. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-3
10.8.2—Development Length of Reinforcement. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-3
10.8.2.1—Deformed Bars and Deformed Wire in Tension . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-3
10.8.2.2—Deformed Bars in Compression. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-4
10.8.2.3—Bundled Bars. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-4
10.8.2.4—Standard Hooks in Tension. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-4
10.8.2.5—Welded Wire Reinforcement. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-5
10.8.2.6—Shear Reinforcement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-5
10.8.3—Development by Mechanical Anchorages. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-6
10.8.4—Splices of Bar Reinforcement. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-6
10.8.5—Splices of Welded Wire Reinforcement. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-6
SECTION 11: REFERENCES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-1
APPENDIX A1: TYPICAL MATERIAL PROPERTIES OF ULTRA-HIGH PERFORMANCE
CONCRETE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-1
APPENDIX B1: SHEAR DESIGN TABLES FOR θ AND f,vα. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-1
B1.1—GENERAL. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-1
B1.2—MEMBERS WITHOUT TRANSVERSE STEEL REINFORCEMENT. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-1
B1.3—MEMBERS WITH TRANSVERSE STEEL REINFORCEMENT. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-2

© 2024 by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials.

All rights reserved. Duplication is a violation of applicable law.
 FOREWORD

These Guide Specifications are the result of extensive research carried out by the Turner Fairbank High-
way Research Laboratory of the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), the Precast/Prestressed Con-
crete Institute, and others over a period of years, and represent the current state of knowledge regarding
the application of ultra-high performance concrete (UHPC) to bridge design. Two design examples have
been developed by the FHWA and are contained in the report FHWA-HRT-23-077: Structural Design with
Ultra-High Performance Concrete (Graybeal and Helou, 2023). While the 2023 FHWA publication was the
basis for these Guide Specifications and contains similar design provisions, these Guide Specifications are
not identical and are intended to be used independently of that document. It is intended that these Guide
Specifications will be used in conjunction with material specifications that include requirements for quali-
fication and acceptance testing of UHPC materials. Until such time as material specifications are published
by AASHTO, Owners and Designers can use the 2023 FHWA publication, which contains a material con-
formance framework. Guidance on the fabrication of precast components with UHPC can be found in the
Guidelines for the Use of Ultra-High-Performance Concrete (UHPC) in Precast and Prestressed Concrete
(TR-9-22) from the Precast/Prestressed Concrete Institute (PCI 2022).

xi

© 2024 by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials.

All rights reserved. Duplication is a violation of applicable law.
 Section 1:
SCOPE

1.1—GENERAL C1.1

The provisions in these Guide Specifications ap- UHPC is a class of concrete that has emerged as
ply to the design of bridge and ancillary structures a compelling material for use in the design, con-
and components constructed of ultra-high perfor- struction, and preservation of structures. It is a ver-
mance concrete (UHPC). UHPC shall be a portland satile material that can be used in primary struc-
cement composite with a discontinuous pore struc- tural components, field-cast connections between
ture and reinforced with steel fiber reinforcement. prefabricated components, and repair applications.
Other non-steel fiber reinforcements may be in- As with conventional concrete, UHPC is composed
cluded as supplements, but shall not be the primary of inert and reactive constituents that, when com-
fiber reinforcement. bined with water and chemical admixtures, under-
The provisions are based on UHPC materials go a hydration reaction to transform from a semi-
that conform to requirements for qualification and fluid mixture into a competent structural material.
acceptance testing, exhibit a strain-hardening be- As defined herein, UHPC is a strain-hardening,
havior, and have the following minimum property steel fiber-reinforced concrete, meaning that this
values for use in design determined according to type of concrete can resist tensile loads beyond
Section 4: cracking of the cementitious composite (Graybeal,
2015b). Engagement of this tensile response in
• A minimum compressive strength, f ′c, of 17.5 structural design necessitates a reconsideration of
ksi; some of the fundamental behavioral assumptions
associated with conventional reinforced concrete.
• A minimum effective cracking strength, f t,cr, of
UHPC-class materials have been demonstrated
0.75 ksi;
to deliver significantly enhanced durability com-
• A minimum crack localization strength, f t,loc, pared with conventional concretes (Haber et al.,
greater than or equal to the effective cracking 2018). Formulations that meet the performance
strength, f t,cr; and requirements have been demonstrated to have re-
duced permeability and thus are more resistant
• A minimum crack localization strain, ε t,loc, of
to liquid permeation and associated degradation
0.0025.
mechanisms. UHPC materials that conform to the
The recommendations of these Guide Specifica- requirements for qualification and acceptance test-
tions are not intended to supplant proper training ing should also meet durability requirements set
or the exercise of judgment by the Designer. They by the Owner. Based on the work of Spragg et al.
state only the minimum requirements necessary to (2022), Graybeal and Helou (2023) proposed a du-
provide public safety. The Owner or the Designer rability threshold value of 1,500 Ω∙m for UHPC, us-
may require the sophistication of the design or the ing a modified version of the AASHTO TP 119-22
quality of materials and construction, or both, to be test method. PCI (2022) recommends a combina-
higher than the minimum requirements. tion of test methods be used to characterize the du-
Consideration shall be given to the durability rability of UHPC mixtures. The above methods can
performance of the UHPC mix selected. be used to establish threshold limits for durability.
There is no standard mixture for UHPC. This
class of concrete is defined through prescriptive and
performance requirements stated herein. UHPC
materials should conform to the requirements for
qualification and acceptance testing that consider
the statistical variability of the material properties
and ensure design properties that are 1.5 standard
deviations below the mean values. UHPC com-
monly contains a high concentration of steel fiber

1-1

© 2024 by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials.

All rights reserved. Duplication is a violation of applicable law.
1-2 Guide Specifications for Structural Design with Ultra-High Performance Concrete, First Edition

reinforcement, generally near or greater than 2 per-

cent per volume. UHPC also commonly contains
supplementary cementitious materials and graded
inert fillers. UHPC rarely contains coarse aggre-
gate. A mix may include additional, supplementary
non-steel fibers, but cannot supplant steel fiber re-
inforcement with non-steel fibers.
An extensive research program was completed
by the Precast/Prestressed Concrete Institute (PCI)
(e.Construct USA, 2021) which focused on devel-
oping specific UHPC mixtures and processes best
suited for production of precast, prestressed bridge
girders in traditional precasting facilities. Steel fi-
bers, either 0.5 in. or 0.75 in. long at a 2 percent by
volume content, are used. The minimum properties
of UHPC provided by PCI differs from that adopted
herein, as follows:

• A minimum compressive strength, f ′c, of 17.4

ksi,
• A minimum first-peak (first crack) strength of
1.5 ksi,
• A minimum peak (ultimate) strength of 2.0 ksi,
• A minimum ratio of peak (ultimate) strength to
first-peak (first crack) strength of 1.25, and
• A minimum residual strength of 75 percent of
the first-peak strength when the net deflection
reaches L/150, where L is the span length or dis-
tance between the supports (in.).
The strengths and deflections referenced in
the last 4 bullets of the previous list are based on
ASTM 1609-19A prism flexural tests. For further
details, see PCI (2022).

1.2—DESIGN PHILOSOPHY C1.2

The guidance in these Guide Specifications is

based on limit state design principles where struc-
tural components shall be proportioned to satisfy
the requirements of all appropriate limit states.
Refer to AASHTO LRFD Bridge Design Speci-
fications (AASHTO LRFD) for provisions on limit
state design principles, general design and location
features, and structural analysis and evaluation. All
references to AASHTO LRFD are in reference to
the 9 th Edition.
The serviceability and strength provisions here-
in are based on the observed and anticipated per-
formance of example UHPC-class materials when
configured for, and subjected to, structural loading.
In general, fundamental structural behaviors (e.g.,

© 2024 by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials.

All rights reserved. Duplication is a violation of applicable law.
Section 1: Scope 1-3

tension, compression, flexure, shear) are treated

based on the intersection of the principles of engi-
neering mechanics and the performance of UHPC.
In situations where the performance of UHPC is
expected to significantly outperform conventional
concrete and there is a lack of specific UHPC test
results, AASHTO LRFD provisions for conven-
tional concrete may have been adopted.
The tensile behavior of UHPC at crack localiza- Crack localization refers to a point in the tensile
tion is of critical importance. Beyond the crack lo- stress–strain response of UHPC where the tensile de-
calization strain, the UHPC offers decreasing ten- formation starts to accumulate into a single dominant
sile resistance, causing loads to be shed to available crack and the tensile resistance starts to continuously
alternate load paths. In general, crack localization decline without substantial recovery. Crack localiza-
within a UHPC structural element results in con- tion occurs when the fiber reinforcement bridging a
centrated deformations (e.g., wide cracking, flexur- crack debonds and starts to pull out of the cementi-
al hinging) that are to be avoided. tious matrix. In unreinforced members, crack local-
ization coincides with a loss of member capacity. In
reinforced members, the loss of the UHPC tensile re-
sistance and the concentrated deformation at a single
localized crack within the member cause local redis-
tribution of the applied stresses, potentially straining
the tensile reinforcement that bridges the crack be-
yond its capacity to resist. This reinforcement strain-
ing behavior is accentuated by the shorter length over
which discrete reinforcements can be developed in
UHPC and should be avoided.
The tensile resistance behavior of UHPC depends Contract documents should require the use of ap-
on the distribution and orientation of the fiber rein- propriate construction methods. Disturbance of fiber
forcement in the UHPC. These provisions rely on distribution, as would occur at a cold joint or when
the use of appropriate construction methods to en- fiber flow is restricted from reaching a part of the
sure that the fiber reinforcement is evenly dispersed member, will affect the structural performance of the
through the member and that adverse fiber orientation member. PCI (2022) has developed guidance for use
effects have been avoided. of UHPC in the precast environment with consider-
ation of fiber distribution and orientation.

1.3—LOADS AND LOAD COMBINATIONS

Refer to AASHTO LRFD for provisions on loads,

load combinations, and load factors.
The provisions of AASHTO LRFD Table
3.5.1-1 shall be supplemented by Article 4.2.2 of these
Guide Specifications, which defines the unit weight
of UHPC.
1.4—LIMITATIONS C1.4

The provisions in these Guide Specifications shall

not apply to:
• The non-UHPC portion of composite structural These Guide Specifications do not provide guid-
members, or ance on the design of conventional concrete or struc-
tural steel portions of a member partially composed
of UHPC. Refer to Section 5 and Section 6 of AASH-
TO LRFD for provisions applicable to these structural
materials.

© 2024 by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials.

All rights reserved. Duplication is a violation of applicable law.
1-4 Guide Specifications for Structural Design with Ultra-High Performance Concrete, First Edition

• The design of plastic hinge regions of compo- These provisions were not developed for applica-
nents that are part of the earthquake resisting tion in plastic hinge regions of elements.
system in Seismic Zones 2, 3, or 4, as defined
within AASHTO LRFD.
The provisions in these Guide Specifications do This provision is not intended to prohibit use of
not address the provisions for specific structure com- post-tensioning with UHPC or the structure types
ponents and types discussed in AASHTO LRFD Ar- listed in AASHTO LRFD Article 5.12; however, these
ticle 5.12. items are not specifically addressed in these Specifica-
The provisions in these Guide Specifications were tions, and the guidance provided in AASHTO LRFD
not developed to address the special considerations Article 5.12 may not necessarily apply to UHPC.
and detailing inherent in post-tensioned structures.

© 2024 by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials.

All rights reserved. Duplication is a violation of applicable law.