Investigation of premature distress around joints in PCC pavements : parts I & II.

Details

• Creators:
  Arribas-Colon, Maria del Mar ; Radlinski, Mateusz ; Olek, Jan ; Whiting, Nancy M.
• Corporate Creators:
  Purdue University. Joint Transportation Research Program
• Corporate Contributors:
  United States. Federal Highway Administration
• Subject/TRT Terms:
  • Concrete pavements
  • Spalling
  • Portland cement concrete
  • Pavement joints
  • Deterioration
  • Air voids
  • Chlorides
  • Cracking of concrete pavements
  • Freeze thaw durability
  • Pavement performance
• Publication/ Report Number:
  FHWA/IN/JTRP-2012/25 ; FHWA/IN/JTRP-2012/26
• Resource Type:
  Tech Report
• Geographical Coverage:
  Indiana
• Corporate Publisher:
  Indiana. Dept. of Transportation
• NTL Classification:
  NTL-HIGHWAY/ROAD TRANSPORTATION-Pavement Management and Performance
• Abstract:
  Some of the Indiana concrete pavements constructed within the last 10‐20 years have shown signs of premature deterioration, especially in the ; areas adjacent to the longitudinal and transverse joints. This deterioration typically manifested itself as cracking and spalling of concrete ; combined with the loss of material in the direct vicinity of the joint. In addition, in some cases “bulb‐shaped” damage zones were also observed ; under the sealed parts of the joints. ; The objective of this study was to investigate possible causes of this premature deterioration. To reach this objective, the characteristics of the ; concrete in and near the deteriorated joints were compared and contrasted to the concrete characteristics in the non‐deteriorated sections of ; pavement. The study was conducted in two different phases (Phase I and Phase II), and the findings are presented as a two‐part report. ; The investigation started with a detailed inventory of selected areas of affected pavements in order to identify and classify the existing types of ; distresses and select locations for collection of the cores. During the Phase I of the study a total of 36 concrete cores were extracted from 5 ; different pavements.. During Phase II of the study a total of 18 cores were retrieved from five different pavement sections and subject to ; examination. The cores were subjected to eighth different tests: air‐void system determination, Scanning Electronic Microscopy (SEM) analysis, Xray ; diffraction (XRD) analysis, sorptivity test, freeze‐thaw & resonance frequency test, resistance to chloride ion penetration (RCP) test and ; chloride profile (concentration) determination. ; The test results identified several cases of in‐filling of the air voids (especially smaller air bubbles) with secondary deposits. These deposits were ; most likely the result of the repetitive saturation of air voids with water and substantially reduced the effectiveness of the air voids system with ; respect to providing an adequate level of freeze‐thaw protection. Specifically, it was observed that the existing air void system in the concrete ; from panels near the deteriorated longitudinal joint had neither spacing factors nor specific surface values within the range recommended for ; freeze‐thaw durability. Contrary to this, nearly all the concrete in lanes without damage had an adequate air void system at the time of sampling. ; In addition, the affected concrete often displayed an extensive network of microcracks, had higher rates of absorption and reduced ability to ; resist chloride ions penetration. ; From the observation of the drains performed using the remote camera it was obvious that not all the drains were functioning properly and some ; were entirely blocked. However, more precise or direct correlations could not be made between the conditions of the drains and observed ; pavement performance.
  More +
• Format:
  PDF
• Funding:
  SPR-3016
• Download URL:
  https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/25946/dot_25946_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 31.81 MB]
• Collection(s):
  US Transportation Collection
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:2c99e32835044323c3c2ed6d7ff3ce36a00dd34d95f2b1690bbff1d65096f0e3691f32d9f0f5bcb1d3107845786e12c981fdf31e66b62c882850674c155ff49e