7. Structural bonding in civil engineering

7.1 Bonding bridge segments

Bonding began to be used in public works from 1960 onwards, with the most spectacular application being the bonding of precast concrete elements or voussoirs for the construction of prestressed concrete bridges.

This technique made it possible to build bridges with long spans and relatively short elements, making them easier to transport and handle (50 to 130 t).

In 1963, the first bridge built in this way was at Choisy-le-Roi, where each segment was cast against the previous one, the adjacent face of which had been coated with a release agent. In this way, a very thin joint of 1 to 3 mm was obtained between the two voussoirs, achieved by glove application with a two-component epoxy adhesive curing at room temperature,...