Optimisation of mixture design and surface texture for low-noise exposed aggregate concrete pavements

Abstract

ABSTRACT In Korea, the transverse tining method has been applied to the surface texture of concrete pavements as it provides excellent skid resistance that improves road safety. However, transverse tining produces higher noise levels of about 4–5 dB(A) compared to asphalt pavements. Accordingly, exposed aggregate concrete pavement (EACP) is introduced since the low tyre-pavement noise and long-term skid resistance can be obtained. Surface texture of this pavement consists of coarse aggregates that are exposed after the removal of the cement mortar. Tyre-pavement noise in EACP resembles that in asphalt pavement due to the similar surface texture that is characterised by wavelength. This parameter is the distance between aggregate particles; thus, it is significantly related to the size and amount of coarse aggregate in the mixture proportion. In addition, short wavelength tends to produce low tyre-pavement noise and this can be a criterion to minimise the noise level in pavement design. Therefore, this study aims to optimise the mixture proportion of low-noise EACP based on the requirement of surface texture and structural capacity. As a result, concrete mixture with 8-mm size and 27% amount of coarse aggregate provided as short-wavelength as asphalt pavement and adequate structural strength was also achieved.