Concrete Modular Pavement Structures with Optimized Thickness Based on Characteristics of High Performance Concrete Mixtures with Fibers and Silica Fume.

Audrius Vaitkus,Ovidijus Šernas,Martynas Karbočius,Rafal Mickevič,Judita Gražulytė

doi:10.3390/ma14123423

Audrius Vaitkus, Ovidijus Šernas + Show 3 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/ma14123423

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Abstract

Usually, C30/37 strength class concrete is used to construct concrete pavements on a rigid, semi-rigid or flexible base. Concrete with such a strength delivers essential design characteristics: flexural strength and tensile splitting strength are between 4.5–5.4 MPa and 2.8–3.7 MPa, respectively. Design characteristics can be significantly increased by densifying the concrete mixture, i.e., adding silica fume, steel or polypropylene macro fibers. As high-performance concrete characteristics are 20–60% higher than those for standard concrete (C30/37), new possibilities to reduce the thickness of concrete pavement slabs appear. The theoretical analysis of concrete pavement structures with high-performance concrete mixtures (C40/50, C45/55 and C50/60) showed that slab thickness could be reduced by 6–39% compared to a standard concrete pavement structure depending on the concrete properties and design method. From all those pavement structures, three concrete mixtures were determined as the most rational ones in terms of PCP thickness reduction and total pavement cost: (i) with 49.5 kg/m3 of steel fibers and 25.2 kg/m3 of silica fume; (ii) with 10.0 kg/m3 of polypropylene fibers (type A); (iii) with 49.5 kg/m3 of steel fibers.

Highlights

The operation and maintenance of a road network is a challenge, and it becomes even more complicated with the continuous growth of traffic
It is noted that those pavements differ from other types of concrete pavements by production process: precast concrete pavements (PCPs) are constructed of prefabricated slabs that are transported to the project site from the plant only when the desired concrete strength is achieved, while other types of concrete pavements are cast-in-place and the concrete mixture cures on-site [6]
PCP pavements made from S+ SF (R), polypropylene fibers Type A (PP_A) (R) and S (R) concrete mixtures with reinforced joints on crushed aggregate base are from 33.1% to 35.2% cheaper compared to the pavement from the reference concrete mixture, while pavement from the SF concrete mixture is 3.1% more expensive compared to the reference mixture

Summary

Introduction

The operation and maintenance of a road network is a challenge, and it becomes even more complicated with the continuous growth of traffic. It is estimated that passenger transport will grow by up to 42% by 2050 and freight transport up to 60% [1] For such heavily loaded roads, concrete pavements become superior to asphalt pavements. A concrete mixture with a strength class of C30/37 is used to construct concrete pavements. Pavement thickness is a crucial aspect in pavement design, a compromise between pavement performance and construction cost often has to be reached. It is significantly important for concrete modular pavements, known as precast concrete pavements (PCPs), since the thickness affects the transportation and lifting cost of slabs and, at the same time, the whole construction cost. PCPs, like other concrete pavement types, are suitable for all types of application areas, i.e., roads, streets, aprons and taxiways, logistic terminals, low volume and private roads, as well as bicycle and pedestrian paths [7]

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