Performance Of Concrete Pavement Research Articles

Sensitivity analysis of gyratory compactor variables to mimic roller compacted concrete pavement performance

ABSTRACT The compaction parameters suggested for Superpave gyratory compactor by ASTM C1800 are primarily derived from the asphalt mix (ASTM D6925). Since the rheological behaviour of Roller Compacted Concrete Pavement (RCCP) is significantly different from asphalt mixes, conventional Superpave compaction parameters cannot be directly adopted for RCCP. Hence, the current study focuses on formulating compaction parameters for the design of RCCP to resemble the field behaviour. For this task, response surface methodology was employed to investigate the effect of gyratory compactor parameters such as internal angle (0.82–3°), compaction pressure (600–1000 kPa), and gyration levels (60–120) on the performance of RCCP specimens. The accuracy of the response prediction model was verified with ANOVA analysis. Further, multiobjective optimization was performed and validated with experimental findings. For validation of laboratory findings, a field test section was constructed using a duplex roller (dual drum vibratory roller). The results showed that the ASTM C1800 suggested gyratory parameters resulted in lower fresh density and strength properties of 4% and 7–45%, respectively, than the field specimens. However, the specimens fabricated at 1.92° internal angle, 120 gyrations, 1000 kPa, and 1 aspect ratio in the gyratory compactor could provide comparable field properties.

Optimization of Anti-Skid and Noise Reduction Performance of Cement Concrete Pavement with Different Grooved and Dragged Textures

Cement concrete pavements are crucial to urban infrastructure, significantly influencing road safety and environmental sustainability with their anti-skid and noise reduction properties. However, while texturing techniques like transverse grooving have been widely adopted to enhance skid resistance, they may inadvertently increase road noise. This study addressed the critical need to optimize pavement textures to balance improved skid resistance with noise reduction. Tests were conducted to assess the influence of surface texture on skid resistance and noise, exploring the relationship between texture attributes and their performance in these areas. The investigation examined the effects of texture representation methods, mean profile depth, and the high-speed sideway force coefficient (SFC) on noise intensity and pavement skid resistance. The findings revealed that transverse grooves significantly improved the SFC, enhancing skid resistance. In contrast, longitudinal burlap drag, through its micro- and macro-texture adjustments, effectively reduced vibration frequencies between the tire and pavement, thus mitigating noise. Utilizing the TOPSIS multi-objective optimization framework, an optimization model for pavement textures was developed to augment skid resistance and noise reduction at varying speeds. The results indicated that at 60 km/h, an optimal balance of groove width, depth, and spacing yielded superior skid resistance with a minimal noise increase. At 80 km/h, increased groove spacing and depth were shown to effectively decrease noise while maintaining efficient water evacuation. The optimal pavement texture design must consider the specific context, including traffic volume, vehicle types, and operating speeds. This study provides essential guidance for optimizing urban cement concrete pavement textures, aiming to diminish traffic noise and bolster road safety.

Quantifying the Effects of Material Input Levels on Jointed Plain Concrete Pavement (JPCP) Performance and Slab Thickness

The mechanistic-empirical pavement design guide (MEPDG) is a commonly accepted design principles guide that aids in jointed plain concrete pavement (JPCP) design and performance analysis. The MEPDG uses three different design parameter input levels, referred to as level one, level two, and level three, providing increasing confidence in the analysis at the lower numbered levels, which use more locally relevant (level two) or project-specific (level one) data. The state-of-the-art pavement ME software (version 2.6.2) uses MEPDG design principles to predict pavement performance. The three performance indicators for JPCP systems (international roughness index (IRI), joint faulting, and transverse cracking) experience significant changes when simulating under a different input level. The IRI and faulting indicator changed by 78 percent when using inputs varying from level one to level three, with the cracking indicator change being more severe at 87 percent. To accommodate the change in performance indicator values between input level one and input level three, increasing the concrete slab thickness is necessary to achieve comparable pavement performance. An increase in the Portland cement concrete (PCC) layer from one inch to two inches is required when input level three simulations are performed, demonstrating the economic and sustainability benefits of using project-specific level one inputs. Understanding the impact of simulation input levels will help to meet design and sustainability goals and improve the lifecycle performance of JPCP systems.

Improvement of Concrete Pavement Performance Using IoT-based Air Content Management

Improvement of Concrete Pavement Performance Using IoT-based Air Content Management

Case Study: Validation of the Spectral-Analysis-of-Surface-Waves Method for Concrete Pavement Condition Evaluation

Before conducting pavement rehabilitation, the concrete pavement performance evaluation is more than necessary to assess the strength and analyze the internal condition. To evaluate the modulus performance of concrete pavement and provide theoretical support for subsequent maintenance and rehabilitation, the SASW (Spectral-Analysis-of-Surface-Waves) method, a non-destructive testing method based on surface waves, was used to determine the modulus of three in-service concrete pavements. At the same time, FWD (Falling Weight Deflectometer) testing and on-site coring were carried out at the measuring points. Through the analysis of modulus results measured in the field, it was found that the SASW method can accurately obtain the elastic modulus of the concrete layer and base layer. Compared with the concrete modulus measured by FWD, the modulus measured by the SASW method was closer to the uniaxial compressive modulus. Moreover, since the SASW method has the ability to provide gradient modulus varying with depth and determine the pavement thicknesses, it is reasonable to recognize the location of the inherent distress based on the region where the modulus suddenly decreases within one layer. The comprehensive evaluation of concrete pavement condition, including the modulus value and internal distress recognition, has the capability to assist in determining the design of overlay asphalt thickness and material.

Development of Real-Time Monitoring System Based on IoT Technology for Curing Compound Application Process during Cement Concrete Pavement Construction.

Among the construction processes of Portland cement concrete pavement (PCCP), the curing compound spraying process is one of the most important processes. If the curing compound spraying amount does not meet the standard or if the curing compound is not applied evenly, distresses occur at the early age of construction, ultimately causing deterioration in concrete pavement performance. The purpose of this study is to develop a real-time monitoring system for a curing compound spraying process based on the Internet of Things (IoT) and sensing technologies to improve the construction quality of concrete pavement. To achieve the goal of this research, we conducted various laboratory and field experiments. The curing compound spraying amount and sprayed status were measured and analyzed using flowmeters, image acquisition sensors, and an image processing program, and the data were provided to workers in real time and simultaneously transmitted to the IoT cloud to form a database. From this study, it is confirmed that the IoT-technology-based curing compound spraying amount and sprayed status monitoring systems can be successfully established to manage construction quality related to the curing of concrete pavement.

Stormwater runoff pollution control performance of permeable concrete pavement and constructed wetland combined system: toward on-site reuse.

Urban waterlogging and the deterioration of receiving water quality caused by stormwater runoff have become increasingly significant problems. Based on the concept of combining grey and green infrastructure, a combined permeable concrete pavement (PCP) and constructed wetland (CW) system has been developed to treat stormwater runoff and enable on-site reuse. The results showed that the removal rate of suspended solids (SS) by PCP ranged from 96.61 to 99.20%; however, the chemical oxygen demand (COD), total nitrogen (TN), and total phosphorus (TP) concentrations in the effluent did not meet the standards required for rainwater reuse. For the combined PCP-CW system, the removal rates of COD, TN and TP by the CW were 48.45-75.12%, 47.26-53.05%, and 59.04-75.28%, respectively, under different hydraulic loading (HL) rates; thus, the effluent TN concentrations did not consistently meet the reuse standards. Further optimization of aeration in different parts of the CW revealed that aeration in the middle and front sections of the wetland had the most significant effect on pollutant removal, under which the TN concentrations in the effluent met the standard required for reuse. The effluent from the combined PCP-CW system was able to fully meet the stormwater reuse standards under these optimized conditions, and the reuse of urban stormwater runoff can therefore be realized.

Improvement of Concrete Pavement Performance using Internet of Things (IoT)-based Unit-water Content Management

Improvement of Concrete Pavement Performance using Internet of Things (IoT)-based Unit-water Content Management

Investigating the performance of pervious concrete pavement to clogging control for urban runoff management

Investigating the performance of pervious concrete pavement to clogging control for urban runoff management

Approach to Estimate Time to Friction Loss in Pavement Mechanistic-Empirical for the Florida Concrete Test Road

Local calibration of the fatigue cracking model used in the AASHTO Pavement Mechanistic-Empirical (ME) software is critical to accurately prediction of the performance of jointed plain concrete pavement (JPCP). Although calibration involves optimizing coefficients used in the model, other design inputs such as time to friction loss can have a significant impact on pavement performance. The degradation of friction between the concrete and supporting layers is a critical input since it indicates deterioration of the JPCP system before fatigue cracking is observed on the surface. This paper proposes an approach for estimating the time to friction loss for JPCP based on the relationship between effective thickness and pavement age determined with falling weight deflectometer (FWD) data. This study shows that using the estimated time to full friction loss rather than the default time causes a significant impact on pavement performance compared with only optimizing calibration coefficients. Ten sections with a similar climatic zone and JPCP structures to Florida’s concrete test road were considered in the development of a relationship between the time to full friction loss and pavement structure thickness. The relationship was used to estimate the expected time to friction loss for the Florida concrete test road as approximately 55 months for sections with a concrete thickness of 7 in. and 164 months for concrete sections of 10 in.

Experimental and Numerical Calculation of the Friction Performance of a Concrete Surface.

The presented self-developed high-precision contact friction test device conducts experimental research on the friction characteristics of concrete pavement. First, the error analysis of the test device is carried out. The structure shows that the test device meets the test requirements. Subsequently, the device was used to carry out experimental research on the friction performance of concrete pavement under different roughness and temperature changes. The results showed that the friction performance of concrete pavement increased with the increase in surface roughness, and decreased with the increase in temperature. It has a small volume and significant stick-slip properties. Finally, the spring slider model is used to simulate the friction characteristics of the concrete pavement, then the shear modulus and viscous force of the concrete material are adjusted to achieve the calculation of the friction force over time under temperature changes, which is consistent with the experimental structure.

Enhancing the Performance of Roller-Compacted Concrete Pavement by Synergetic Improvement of Packing Density, Lubrication, and Moisture State of Recycled Concrete Aggregate

Roller-compacted concrete pavement (RCCP) is considered superior to other pavement types with reference to cost, ease of construction, and performance. However, the aggregate demand is significantly higher in RCCP than in the conventional concrete pavement. It is predicted that natural minable limestone sources would be exhausted in India in the next 30 to 40 years. One way to reduce the natural aggregates (NA) requirements in RCCP is through the integration of recycled concrete aggregates (RCA). However, the physical property of RCA is significantly inferior to that of NA owing to the presence of adhered mortar (AM), which increases the water demand by 2.3 to 4.6 times and affects the compactness and hardened-state behavior of RCCP. This study has tried to enhance the compactness and improve the performance of RCCP containing RCA (coarse, fine, and total RCAs) through different synergetic approaches. This, in turn, enhances the interlocking capacity using the particle packing approach, followed by mitigating the negative effects of AM by altering the moisture states, then improving the compactability and lubricating the matrix with superplasticizers. The results depict that altering the moisture states alone could adversely affect the RCCP performance because of the moisture transfer mechanism from the hydraulic gradient. Moreover, the inclusion of superplasticizers in different moisture states could manifest better aggregate rearrangement and compactability. Further, it could improve the tensile behavior of the RCCP compared with the concrete containing NA. These findings favor the complete replacement of NA by RCA for low-volume rural road construction.

Collective influence of autonomous trucks and climate change on asphalt concrete pavement performance

ABSTRACT Autonomous vehicles (AVs) movement in a narrower traffic lane and anticipated climate change are crucial for asphalt concrete (AC) pavement distress. This study assesses the combined effect of AVs and climate change on the performance of AC pavement for a road section in Ontario, Canada. The performance of AC pavement due to AVs and climate change has been evaluated using the AASHTOWare Mechanistic-Empirical (ME) pavement design. AVs were incorporated in ME pavement design using traffic factors such as adjusting traffic volume with the load equivalency and lane distribution factors. This analysis was carried out to determine the individual and combined influence of AVs and climate change on pavement performance. This study determines the combined impacts of AVs and climate change by comparing pavement performances for human-driven vehicles with historical climate and AVs with projected climate. The comparative performance analyses of human-driven vehicles and AVs with projected climate demonstrated the effect of climate change. AVs and climate change combinedly and AVs alone accelerate the accumulation of AC rutting and bottom-up fatigue cracking. The regulation of AVs explicitly to ensure uniform loading distribution and the placement of AVs with non-AVs in a controlled manner were the best alternatives to minimise pavement distress.

Comparative evaluation of dynamic responses of RCC composite pavement under different moving axles

Roller-compacted composite pavement is considered as an alternative for traditional pavements that provides the desired benefits of both rigid and flexible pavements in a cost-effective manner. To evaluate the performance of roller-compacted concrete (RCC) composite pavement under moving loads, a three-dimensional finite element model (FEM) was developed. A realistic dynamic moving load was applied to the surface of the pavement via DLOAD subroutines developed by FORTRAN. The dynamic response of the pavement at critical locations induced by single, tandem, and tridem axles at speeds of 8 and 80 km/h was determined using the developed FEM model and utilized to estimate pavement performance. Sensitivity analysis of design factors considering variations of hot mix asphalt (HMA) and RCC thicknesses, RCC elastic modulus, axle configurations, and moving speed was conducted to evaluate their impact on fatigue life and rutting development of RCC composite pavement. The results show that the performance of the pavement is significantly affected by axle configurations and moving speed. Among different axle configurations, the tandem axle creates the highest tensile stress and shear stress in the RCC base and HMA layer, respectively. The fatigue life of the pavement prolongs by increasing in the speed of moving loads, so it is expected that the pavement withstands higher load repetition when it is subjected to higher speed traffic. Moreover, increasing layer thicknesses and stiffness of the RCC layer improve fatigue life and rutting performance of the pavement. Even though increasing the thickness of the HMA layer enhances the fatigue life of pavement, increasing it to over 15 cm increases the potential of rutting.

FEM analysis of the influence of reinforcing mesh on concrete pavement performance

Reinforcement of concrete pavement slabs with steel reinforcing mesh (KARI mesh) has been regularly used in the Czech Republic. Reinforcing mesh is used for atypical shapes and non-standard (larger) dimensions of pavement slabs (intersections, runways, transhipment areas, etc.). The placement of mesh across the thickness of the slab varies in designs (top, bottom or both surfaces, eventually in centre). The mesh has a positive effect on cracking occurrence during concrete hardening. It is assumed that the reinforcing meshes also contribute to the reduction of tensile stresses caused by cyclic loading from traffic and temperature. The amount of the reduction in concrete depends on the mesh positioning, but also on the specific loading conditions. In this paper, the FEM analysis of concrete pavements with steel reinforcing mesh is carried out. The reduction of maximal value of tensile stress induced by overweight vehicles, temperature and their combination is inspected while using different mesh positioning. The slab dimensions used in the simulation are larger than the usual highway slabs, the dimensions are based on the real transhipment area pavement. The contribution of the reinforcement to limitation of the maximum tensile stress in the pavement due to different reinforcing mesh positioning was determined.

Review on Influence of Compaction Mechanisms on Roller-Compacted Concrete Pavement Performance

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Experimental and Numerical Investigations on an Organic Phase Change Material Incorporated Cool Concrete Pavement

Background: Traditionally, cool pavements have been designed as reflective, evaporative, etc. Though the reflective pavements reduce the pavement surface temperature significantly, they increase glare, the thermal burden on pedestrian traffic, and the temperature of nearby buildings. In the case of evaporative pavements, the absence of water, reduced thermal inertia and solar reflection result in a higher pavement temperature. As a result, there has been a pressing need to investigate new low-side-effect cool pavement options. Objective: The study aims to analyze the effect of phase change material (PCM) incorporation on the thermal performance of concrete pavements and to develop a total enthalpy-based numerical heat transfer model for such cool pavements. Materials and Methods: A paraffin-based organic PCM with a melting point of 42 to 45 °C was used in this work, and expanded clay aggregate (ECA) was used as an encapsulation medium. Concrete slabs without and with the incorporation of PCM-impregnated ECAs were cast, and thermocouples were implanted in the concrete to monitor the pavement temperature continuously. A total enthalpy-based numerical heat transfer model was developed to predict the thermal performance of such cool concrete pavements. Results: The PCM incorporation reduced 2.24 °C in the annual average pavement surface temperature with a maximum reduction of 4.12 °C. Conclusion: PCM incorporation effectively reduces pavement surface temperature during the daytime and makes the pavements cooler. Increasing the encapsulating medium's porosity and the concrete slab's thermal conductivity enhances the cooling potential. However, the thermal characteristics of the encapsulating material may be neglected as their impact is less on the cooling potential.

Effect of air voids and asphalt content changes on laboratory and simulated long-term fatigue performance of asphalt concrete pavements

Effect of air voids and asphalt content changes on laboratory and simulated long-term fatigue performance of asphalt concrete pavements

Optimized design of asphalt concrete pavement containing phase change materials based on rutting performance

This paper investigated the effects of phase change materials (PCMs) on temperature field and rutting performance of asphalt concrete (AC) pavement with a focus on PCM types, contents, and locations. To quantify their effects on rut depth accumulation, a pavement finite element (FE) model was constructed with measured material properties and designed structural configuration. The implemented traffic and environmental conditions were obtained from a FE model updating scheme and a heat transfer model with the consideration of traffic speed and the phase change process. Results showed that using polyethylene glycol of 4000 molar mass encapsulated by SiO2 as the PCM to replace 10% of the aggregate in the asphalt top sublayer yielded the best rutting performance; a 14% reduction in the rut depth that was accumulated within one month after pavement construction was predicted for a typical summer case in Texas. This study also revealed that incorporating PCMs into AC does not always lead to pavement rutting performance improvement. This is because (1) the lower thermal conductivity of the PCMs can offset the benefits achieved from the increased heat capacity during phase change, and (2) PCMs will not function if they are added in layers where pavement temperature is not high enough for PCMs to undergo the phase change. Therefore, developing PCMs with higher thermal conductivity together with a judicious selection of PCM types and locations will maximize the effectiveness of the pavement temperature and rutting control.

Temperature curling and gradient of roller-compacted concrete composite pavements

Rational design requires a realistic evaluation of the effect of curling stress on the long-term performance of roller-compacted concrete composite pavement (RCCCP). The primary purpose of this study is to quantify the thermal behavior of RCCP, as well as the effects of the aggregate type and the hot mix asphalt (HMA) overlay on it. The research problem concerns thermal gradient and the curling caused by thermal gradient, which can be destructive, particularly with wheel loads and in the corners of the slab. The study also aims to find a method for reducing the amount of thermal gradient and curling in roller-compacted concrete pavement (RCCP). In this regard, the current study evaluated the effect of aggregate type and HMA overlay on the top of RCCP. This study involves field instrumentation of newly constructed RCCP using temperature and deflection sensors. The most significant findings of this research are as follows: 1) The use of silica aggregates in RCCP results in a 10% increase in thermal gradient throughout the depth compared to the application of lime aggregates. 2) HMA overlay on RCCP diminishes the maximum thermal gradient by up to 20%. 3) A second-order power function describes the temperature gradient of RCCP more accurately. 4) It is suggested, based on the thermal gradient trend, that concrete pavements be designed as a two-layer system. 5) The curling of RCCP made with silica aggregate is roughly-two to two-and-a-half times that of RCCP made with lime aggregate. In addition, implementing an HMA overlay can increase temperature curling by 30 to 50 percent.