Concrete Pavements

John Harvey
University of California, Davis
Overview
Concrete Pavement Types
How Concrete Pavements Fail
Concrete Pavement Design
Concrete Materials for Pavements
Construction, Traffic, Delay, Money
What is the Objective of
Pavement Engineering and
Management?
Provide adequate serviceability at
minimum cost
Provide best serviceability possible with
funds available
Maximum mobility at minimum cost
Rigid Pavements - Jointed Plain
Concrete Pavement
Hydraulic Concrete Slabs
Base/Subbase Layers
Subgrade
Portland Cement Concrete
Fast Setting Hydraulic
Cement Concrete
Lean Concrete Base
Treated Permeable Bases
Aggregate Bases
Asphalt Concrete Base
Cement Treated Bases
Compaction
Fabrics
Mineral Admixtures
Chemical Admixtures
Slab dimensions designed
to not crack
Other Rigid Pavement Types
Jointed Reinforced Concrete Pavement (JRCP)
reinforcing steel in slabs
steel holds cracks tightly together
longer slabs than for plain concrete
Continuously Reinforced Concrete Pavement
(CRCP)
no sawed joints
Prefabricated/Post-Stressed Concrete Pavement
Pre-Stressed Concrete Pavement
Pavement Performance (Life)
Curve
Ride Quality
Structural
Capacity
Traffic Repetitions
(=Years?)
Unacceptable
Field Maintenance
Capital Maintenance
Full-Scale
Testing
(months)
Laboratory Testing
(weeks)
Computer Analysis
(days)
Time
& Cost
Reliability
of answers
Long-Term
Monitoring
(10-30 years)
HVS on SR14 near Palmdale
Side View of HVS
Where is Caltrans Pavement
Network in its Life Cycle?
When was it built, how long was it
designed for?
Mostly deployed
Mostly maintenance and rehabilitation
Some new lanes, realignments
Beginning reconstruction
What Causes Pavement
Distress?
Traffic
Environment
Interaction of traffic/environment,
construction quality, materials, design
Environment = Water, Temperature
Increase in water content
decreases soil stiffness
decreases soil shear strength
decreases resistance to erosion, pumping
Temperature
asphalt concrete stiffness/strength high at low
temperatures, low at high temperatures
temperature changes cause expansion/contraction
stresses in all asphalted and cemented materials
Traffic Variables
Its the trucks
Loads
Tire pressures
Speeds
Dynamics (interaction with roughness)
Which are most important?
Big Truck - 1960
Big Truck - 1960
Big Truck - 2001
Super Single Tires
Trucks are
Heavier,
Faster,
More
Numerous
Different
Suspension,
Different Tires
An Approximate Load
Equivalence Factor Equation
Standard axle load = 80 kN single axle
Caltrans current LEF equation for
ESALs:
ESALs = (L
single
/80kN)
4.2
ESALs = 2*(0.5*L
tandem
/80kN)
4.2
ESALs = 3*(0.33*L
tridem
/80kN)
4.2
Current California legal load limits:
single axle: 89 kN
tandem axle: 151 kN
Rigid Pavement Overview
Concrete slabs, carry
nearly all load stress
Load transfer between
slabs important
Base must provide uniform, continuous support
to slabs, often stabilized with cement or asphalt
Granular sub-base to provide support to base and
slabs, without pumping, expansion/contraction
Compacted subgrade, must not expand or contract
to provide uniform support to layers above
Slab Dimensions
Concrete slabs have engineered length and
width
Longer slabs are more prone cracking due to
shrinkage, curling and warping
Shorter slabs require more joints, which cost
more to build and maintain, and can result in
rougher ride
Typical slab width is 3.7 m (12 ft) = one lane
Slab length is a design variable
Caltrans joint spacing has varied over the years
Environment and Loading
Tensile stresses crack concrete slabs
Environment-related mechanisms causing
tensile stresses
shrinkage and warping
curling
Load related mechanisms
load mass
load location on slab
Environment and load stresses are additive
Shrinkage and Warping
Base
Concrete Slab
Self-weight
Tension
Warping of slab:
Top of slab cures faster, drier, shrinks more than bottom
Concrete typically shrinks when curing
Uniform shrinkage causes some tensile stresses
Non-uniform shrinkage causes warping,
higher tensile stresses
Cool and moist below
Hot and dry above
Shrinkage Crack (Top-Down)
Slab core laid on its side
Top-Down crack
Base
Concrete Slab
Self-weight
Curling of slab: caused by temperature difference
between top and bottom of slab
Night - cooler on top
Base
Tension
Tension
Day - hotter on top
Concrete Slab
Self-weight
Curling
Desert
4 mm
High Desert/
Mountain
South Coast
Bay Area
North
Coast
2500 mm
Central
Valley
Average
Maximum Air
Temperatures,
April-September
24-29 C
29-35 C
35-41 C
18-24 C
Average
Minimum Air
Temperatures,
October-March
-1.5 to -3.5 C
3.5 to 8.5 C
8.5 to 13.5 C
-6.5 to -1.5 C
Slab Size and Environmental
Region Effects
Longer slabs result in greater
shrinkage stresses
warping stresses
curling stresses
Thicker slabs have larger temperature
gradients; bending resistance, weight cancel
Shrinkage, warping, curling worst where large
day-night temperature changes
desert
central valley
Top-Down Thermal/Shrinkage
Cracking at Palmdale
Load Transfer
Load Transfer:
load on one slab partially carried by
adjacent slabs
reduces tensile stresses in slab
reduces deflections at joints
Load transfer comes from:
aggregate interlock
tie bars (rough steel bars)
dowels (smooth steel rods)
Load Transfer Locations
Dowels
Dowels
Dowels
Dowels
Dowels
Dowels
Dowels
Dowels
Dowels
Dowels
Dowels
Dowels
Dowels
Dowels
Dowels
Dowels
Dowels
Dowels
T
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T
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T
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T
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T
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T
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T
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Aggregate interlock wherever joint sawed in larger slab
Longitudinal joints
Transverse
joints
Load Transfer
Devices
Sawed transverse joint Dowel Aggregate interlock
Sawed longitudinal joint Tie Bar Aggregate interlock
Joint Saw Cut with Aggregate Interlock
Dowel Bar
Basket
Alternative:
Dowel Bar
Inserters
Tie Bars in Longitudinal Joint
Load Transfer Efficiency (LTE)
LTE = deflection at B
deflection at A
when load is at A
A B
A B
LTE vs Repetitions
Dowelled and Undowelled HVS Sections
0.00
0.10
0.20
0.30
0.40
0.50
0.60
0.70
0.80
0.90
1.00
0
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Load Repetitions
L
o
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T
r
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f
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r

E
f
f
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c
y
Dowel
(90kN)
No
dowels
(70kN)
h = 200 mmm
CTB = 100 mm
Load Transfer Questions
Why are dowels smooth?
permits slabs to shrink and thermally contract with
small tensile stresses
What happens if too many lanes are tied
together?
shrinkage, temperature contraction can cause a crack
same when slabs are too long
Is there aggregate interlock and load
transfer
with asphalt shoulders? No
with cold joints between adjacent lanes? No
Base Erosion
Mechanisms:
Water enters joints and cracks, erodes base material
Vertical deflections of truck loads create hydraulic
pumping action
Primarily occurs at transverse joints,
corners
locations of largest deflections if poor load transfer
efficiency
Also occurs at longitudinal joints and
transverse cracks
Faulting
Base material moves from B to A
Slabs become tilted, creates step-off
Faulting development controlled by:
load transfer efficiency
erodability of base
A B
Severely effects ride quality
thump, thump, thump
Pumping, Voids
A B
Base
Water and large
vertical
deflection pump base,
subbase and subgrade
material out, leave void
Voids result in less
support to slab, higher
tensile stresses under
load, and corner
cracking
Concrete Cracking
Traffic and environmental loads cause
tensile stresses
Higher stresses result in fewer
repetitions before cracking (fatigue)
Types of cracking:
transverse
longitudinal
corner
Fatigue Life Calculation
1. = f(E, k, h, L, P)
= slab bending stress
E = concrete elastic modulus
k = subgrade support value
h = concrete thickness
L = slab length
2. Stress Ratio = /MR
MR = concrete flexural strength
3. Plot /MR versus Repetitions to Failure
FSHCC Fatigue Resistance Results
0.00
0.40
0.80
1.20
1.60
1.E+00 1.E+02 1.E+04 1.E+06 1.E+08
Repetitions to Failure
S
t
r
e
s
s

R
a
t
i
o
Beam
PCA Curve
PCC Slab
FSHCC
AASHO
Pumping
Did not fail
Transverse Cracking
Critical load conditions:
heavy single axle at mid-slab at edge
day-time curl (additive with load)
no load transfer at edge
Stresses reduced by:
shorter joint spacing
thicker slab (Eh
3
)
stronger flexural strength of concrete
load transfer at edge (tied shoulder, wide lane)
Transverse Cracks
Corner Cracking
Critical load conditions:
heavy tandem axle at corner
night-time curl (additive with load)
warping
no load transfer at edge and transverse joint
erosion of base under corner
Stresses reduced by:
thicker slab (Eh
3
)
stronger flexural strength of concrete
load transfer at joint and edge (dowels, tied
shoulder, wide lane)
Corner Cracks
Longitudinal Cracking
Critical load conditions:
heavy single axle at mid-slab about 0.5 m
from edge
night-time curl
warping
Stresses reduced by:
thicker slab (Eh
3
)
stronger flexural strength of concrete
Longitudinal Crack
Wide-Truck Lane and Lane
Striping
Critical (worst) load location for
transverse and corner cracking
wheels along slab edge
best location is down middle of slabs
For outside truck lane can use wide
lane (4.3 m instead of 3.7 m)
put stripe at 3.7 m to get trucks off edge
potential alternative to tied shoulder
Always try to keep trucks off edge and
corners
Wide Truck Lane (with
dowels)
This is a test section!
In practice, dowels
should go completely
across joint
Wide lane
extra 0.6 m
3.7 m lane
Long-Term Durability
Concrete strength gain
Sulfate attack
Alkali-aggregate reaction
Spalling, mechanical abrasion
resistance
Sulfate Attack
Sulfates in soil and water can create a
sulfate (acidic) environment for concrete
slabs
Sulfates reduce pH of cement,
degrades some kinds of concrete
crystal structures
Controlled by concrete chemistry,
water/cement ratio, access to water
First identified in California, Type I/II
cement usually required
Lab Mortar Samples after Sulfate Exposure
Hydraulic
cement A
Hydraulic
cement B
Alkali-Aggregate Reaction
High pH of cement causes reaction with
aggregates, particularly those with
certain siliceous minerals
Continued reaction (requires water)
creates gel which expands
When expansion strain greater than
failure strain, concrete cracks
Can completely crack, destroy concrete
First identified in California in 1920s
Concrete Strength Gain, Chemical
Conversion, Mechanical Abrasion
Portland cement
typically continues to gain strength with time
hydration products (crystals) are stable
Other cement types (such as FSHCC)
may not continue to gain strength after initial
high early strength
may have hydration products that change with
time, reduce strength
Hard aggregate, strong cement needed to
resist chipping, spalling, chain wear
Soils Expansion
Certain clay soils will expand when
have access to source of water
Can cause distortion in pavement
Uniform support to slabs is key to good
concrete pavements
do not use unless completely mitigate risk
of soils expansion
Influence of Materials Selection
and Design on Each Distress
Understanding of climate and traffic essential
Materials selection effects on performance:
high enough flexural strength for cracking
not such high strength or early strength that shrinkage
cracks occur
Balance in joint spacing, lane tieing: load transfer,
thermal, shrinkage contraction, stresses, ride quality
Adequate thickness to resist bending
Base type: non-erodible, accommodate curl, warping
Load transfer: dowels, tie bars, wide lanes
Typical Properties for QC/QA
1) Fresh Concrete Properties
2) Hardened Concrete Properties
3) Surface Roughness
4) Thickness
5) Surface Friction
Hardened Concrete Properties
1) Strength Tests
fc, MR
2) Shrinkage Tests
mortar bar
concrete prism
3) Maturity
ASTM C 1074-93
Flexural Strength Apparatus
( ASTM C 78 - third-point loading)
Calculation of Modulus of
Rupture (MR)
CTM 523 or ASTM C 293:
MR= 1.5PL/(bd
2
)
ASTM C 78:
MR= PL/(bd
2
)
Why use flexural strength
test?
1) Required for pavement design
2) Most realistic to slab bending action
3) Conservative estimate of slab strength
Cons of flexural beam tests
moisture sensitive
temperature sensitive
size and loading configuration effects
Maturity Testing
ASTM C 1074
Internal temperature of concrete relates
directly to concrete strength
Develop correlation curve in lab
Precision to baseline cylinders: 5%
Maturity Testing
Temperature-Time Factor, M(t)
C
o
m
p
r
e
s
s
i
v
e

S
t
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e
n
g
t
h

(
M
P
a
)
C
o
m
p
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s
s
i
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S
t
r
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g
t
h

(
p
s
i
)
0 100 200 300 400 500
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
0
1000
2000
3000
4000
5000
M(t) = (T
a
-T
o
) t
M(t) = temperature-time factor
t = time interval
T
a
= average concrete temp.
T
o
= datum temp. (-10
o
C)
Dowel Bar Retrofit
Dowel Bar Retrofit of Transverse Joint
Dowel Bar Retrofit of Transverse Crack
Completed DBR
Rigid Long-Life Strategies
Currently Under Investigation
200-225 mm PCC
100 mm CTB
150 mm ASB
Remove PCC, Replace
with 200-300 mm
Concrete Slab
100 mm CTB or other
base type
(Recompact) ASB
Effect of Pavement Thickness and
Construction Window on Project Duration
20 lane-km project
Const. Window 203 mm 254 mm 305 mm Duration
Cont. (3 shift)
1.4 2.1 2.4
Weeks
Cont. (1 Shift)
4.0 5.9 6.6
Weeks
Weekend
6.2 10.1 11.4
No. of Weekend
254 and 305 mm slab require new base (more time)
For both AC and Rigid Long-Life Strategies
most critical element controlling construction
duration is reconstruction thickness, which
determines amount of old material to be removed
and new material to be hauled in