Evaluating the Quality of Curing Applications on Concrete Pavements with Ground-Penetrating Radar

Abstract

The management of concrete pavement curing must take several factors into account, such as the type of curing compound, the rate of the curing application, the uniformity of the curing application, the timing of the application, and the ambient weather conditions. This paper aims to elucidate a new curing application protocol for new concrete pavement construction and introduce a technique to address curing viability. Data for the development of the protocol were obtained from field investigations involving a series of test sections associated with concrete paving projects in: Victoria, TX; Itasca, IL; and Jacksonville, FL. For this undertaking, ground-penetrating radar technology was used to evaluate the efficacy of curing in relation to repeatability and uniformity. Statistical analysis was used to validate the utility of using dielectric measurements to qualify the curing quality. The rate of decrease in the dielectric constant was the critical parameter for evaluating a curing practice. Also, based on the coefficient of variation of data collection, the repeatability of data was acceptable. Finally, as a new method for checking the uniformity of curing applications, percent within limits (PWL) was implemented. Based on the PWL results, the hand-spraying led to a higher degree of non-uniformity in the spraying patterns compared with the spraying machine.