Construction and maintenance of concrete pavement

Construction of joints

Objectives:-This lecture discusses about construction of pavement joints and related issues.
Introduction:-The various types of joints and their functions have been introduced in the lecture entitled 'basic concepts of pavement
analysis and design. Schematic diagrams of some of the typical joint configurations have been presented in Figure-39. From
construction point of view, concrete pavement joints could be formed or sawed. Formed joints could bekeyed or butt-type and can be of
tied or untied variety. Expansion joints are in general formed and tied,contraction joints are generally sawed type (could be tied or
untied).



(a) Expansion joint with dowel bar (b) Contraction joint as dummy joint


(c) Contraction joint with dowel bar (d) Longitudinal joint as plain butt joint

(e) Longitudinal joint with tie bar (f) Tongue and groove longitudinal joint
Figure-39 Schematic diagram of some typical joint configurations.
Sawing is done as concrete achieves adequate strength, usually after 4 to 12 hours after placement (Swanlund and Vanikar 2002) of
concrete. The timing of sawing is important. Premature sawing will causespalling and raveling of concrete, and if sawing is
late, shrinkage cracks will appear (refer Figure-40). Sawing is generally done in two stages - the initial saw cut is further widened in the
second stage of sawing. The transverse and longitudinal joints in sub-base and those of in the concrete pavement are generally placed
in staggered way.

Figure- 40 Joint sawing time window.








Joint sealant
Each joint has some gap. This joint gap is filled up by joint fillers . Then, joint sealers are poured over the joint fillers, so as to prevent
water to percolate through the joints and also to make a smooth surface for travel. As per the present day practice, a single material is
used to both fill and seal, and a term joint sealant has subsequently evolved (ACPA 2005).
Three basic categories of joint sealants are (i) hot poured liquid sealants (example, bituminous, polymer, rubber materials ) (ii) cold
poured liquid sealants (example, polysulfides, polyurethanes, silicone ) and (iii) preformed elastomeric sealants (example, extruded
neoprene rubber ). Elastomeric sealants exert resistive force towards the movement of the joints.
Prior to filling, the joint is cleaned by compressed air jets (MORT&H 2001). Beaker rod of circular cross-section, typically made up of
foam like material, is inserted to the joints before putting sealants. Joint sealants should be poured into the groove/ gap when the gapis
in maximum expanded form. Suitable primer is sometimes applied to ensure good bonding between the cut surface and the sealant
(IRC:15-2002). The height of filled joint sealant should be less than the thickness of the concrete slab. Schematic diagram of
contraction joint with field poured and preformed type of sealants have been presented in Figure-41.

Figure-41 Schematic diagram of contraction joint with field poured and preformed type
of sealants.
Joint finishing
After putting the joint sealant, finishing the surface is essential so as to prevent rough ride. Squeegee, flat pate or overbanding are the
various methods of finishing the surface. The technique adopted for surface finish depends on the type of sealant used. Traffic should
be allowed only after the sealing material is adequately set. Figure-42 presents photograph of various stages of concrete pavement
joint construction.

(a) Initial joint cutting (b) Widening of initial joint cut


(c) Insertion of baker rod (d) Filling joint with sealant
Figure- 42 Various stages of joint construction ( photo courtesy: Mr. J amil Ahmed,
Consulting Engineering Service, New Delhi ).
Recapitulation
Concrete pavement joints could be formed or sawed.
For sawing proper selection of time window is important, failing of which concrete will either spall or crack.
Some of the basic varieties of joint sealants are hot poured liquid, cold poured liquid and preformed elastomeric sealants.
Elastomeric sealants exert resistive force towards the movement of the joints.
Ideally, joint sealants should be poured into the joint gap when it is in maximum expanded form.
Quality control issues
Objective:-The objective of this lecture is to introduce the concept of statistical quality control applied to pavement
construction.
Introduction:-Construction of pavement involves processes like, acquiring of material, mixing, transportation, laying,
compaction, curing, finishing etc. At every stage there exists some variability with the construction materials as well
as with the processes involved. Thus, any parameter which is assumed to be indicative of quality, can be represented
with a set of individual values of the prameter recorded during the construction. These values may be represented in
the form of a distribution. The poorer is the quality control in a particular project, the more will be the spread of such
distribution.
Most of the time, quality control is performed through statistical parameters. Quality control through statistical
parameter brings in more flexibility in quality acceptance / rejection , and does not involve subjective judgment while
taking a decision, and thereby, substantially reduces dispute cases (Livneh 2002).
Two terms are often mentioned with reference to the quality control issues, one is quality assurance (QA) and the
other is quality control (QC). Quality assurance is the overall plan that guarantees the quality of the construction
process. This, in turn, would provide necessary confidence that the constructed facility (i.e. pavement in the present
case) will perform satisfactorily during its service period. Quality control is the series of tests and measurements
which are taken during the construction so as to ensure its quality (TRB 2005).




Various tests
A good construction practice involves uninterrupted control on the material and construction process. This is done by maintaining
records of various engineering parameters before, during and after the construction process. Table-6 and 7 summarizes some of the
pavement material and pavement construction parameters (respectively), with reference to a typical concrete pavement construction.
Table-6 Some quality control tests for pavement material related to concrete pavement
Material testing Quality control tests
Soil
Subgrade modulus, field moisture content, maximum dry density,
optimum moisture content
Aggregates
Moisture absorption, gradation, strength, durability, toughness, shape
Fresh concrete
Air content, water content, density, slump, temperature
Hardened concrete Unit weight, compressive strength, flexural fatigue strength
Table-7 Some quality control tests during construction of concrete pavement
Construction item Quality control tests
Subgrade, subbase and base
Moisture content, density, thickness, gradation, slope
Concrete paving Thickness, level of compaction
Joint/ surface Profile, smoothness, skid resistance

Different pavement construction parameters are recorded depending on the recommendations of the particular specification being
followed for the construction project. Various types of specifications are in use in different construction practices. Some of these
specifications are, method/recipe based specification, performance related or performance based specification (Anderson et al. 1990),
material and workmanship based specification, end result specification, warranty based specification (Hancher 1994) etc.
The frequencies of the various tests for achieving quality assurance are generally specified in the respective guidelines. This frequency
of testing is decided by considering the cost of the testing and reliability achieved with the acquired data (McCabe et al. 1999, 2002).
The frequency value for a specific test is generally recommended in the construction guideline itself.
Statistical analysis
The quality control data can be represented in the form a time series (control chart) plot (refer Figure-43(a)) or can be represented in
the form of histogram plot (refer Figure-43(b)). From the histogram plot, one can perform goodness-of-fit test and obtain the type of
known probability distribution it resembles the most.


Figure 43(a) Example of time series plot

Figure 43(b) Example of histogram plot
In simplistic way, the statistical quality control can be performed in the following manner. The standard deviation of a particular
parameter of a given type of project is a characteristic to that type of projects and may be assumed to be known. This can be termed
as true standard deviation. This standard deviation value is obtained from prior experience of similar such projects. By knowing the
standard deviation of the concerned parameter, one can calculate (provided the parameter is normally distributed) the number of
samples to be tested (in other words frequency of testing), so that the population mean can be confidently estimated. If this mean value
is outside the specified tolerance limit , the contractor may be penalized . Conversely the average test result is better than the
expected, then the contractor may get bonus . Various disincentive and incentivepay factors are suggested in various construction
specifications to estimate the bill payable to the contractor (TRB 2005).
It may be noted that even if the quality of a parameter is adjudged as acceptable or non-acceptable based on the mean value , there is
always a probability that some samples would have behaved otherwise (Livneh2002). This is explained further in Figure-2.
Figure-44(a) shows a situation where the estimated population mean value is lesser than the specification lower limit, hence, the
quality is assumed to be unacceptable. However, as shown in Figure-44(a), there is a probability of that it is wrongly rejected.
Similarly, Figure-44(b) shows a situation where the estimatedpopulation mean is higher than the specification lower limit, hence it is
accepted. However, as shown in Figure-44(b) there is a probability of that it is wrongly accepted. is called the contractor's risk and
is called agency's risk. The objective of developing a quality assurance scheme is to recommend suitablesample size such that the
agency's risk, as well as the contractor's risk, are minimized (Livneh 2002). At the same time, large sample size involves higher cost
towards quality control process (e.g. costs towards acquiring data, data processing, testing), therefore this aspect also needs to be
looked into.

Figure 44(a) Contractor's risk

Figure 44(b) Agency's risk

Recapitulation
Some parameters are identified during the construction process as the quality control parameters. Values of these parameters are
noted at a specified frequency. The population mean of each parameter is estimated from the collected sample data. The qualit y of
construction for each parameter is assessed considering the specified limits(s) and the estimated mean value. Accordingly, the pay
factors for the construction items are decided.
Maintenance of concrete pavements
Objectives:-This objective of this lecture is to discuss the maintenance issues specific to concrete pavement.
Introduction
Any in-service pavement shows signs of distresses, and subsequently requires maintenance to retain its serviceability. Various
distresses that may occur to the concrete pavement can be, in general, classified as follows (TFHRC 2006):
1. Cracking
Corner breaks
Longitudinal cracking
Transverse cracking
2. Joint deficiencies
Joint seal damage
Spalling of joints
3. Surface defects
Map cracking and scaling
Polished aggregate
Popouts
Loss of skid resistance
4. Miscellaneous distresses
Blowups
Lane-to-shoulder drop-off and separation
Patch
Punch out
Water bleeding and pumping

Pictorial description and discussion on various types of pavement distresses can be obtained from referenceTFHRC 2006. The
following section discusses various maintenance actions undertaken on concrete pavement towards rehabilitation and preservation of
concrete pavements.
Rehabilitation and preservation of concrete pavements
Repair of early distresses
Some of the early distresses in concrete pavement and their maintenance actions are discussed in the following:
Plastic shrinkage cracking: Plastic shrinkage cracks appear in the form of parallel surface cracks on the surface due to rapid
evaporation of water from the surface. The depth of such cracks can be estimated through coring technique . This can be repaired by
sealing the surface cracks by injecting low viscosity epoxy, high molecular weight methacrylate (IPRF 2003) etc.
Edge slump: When the slip-form paver moves forward, the edge of concrete slab being un-supported, sometimes slumps at isolated
locations. This edge slump seriously affects the performance of the constructed pavement. The repair can be done by separately
placing fresh concrete (and not mortar) to the affected portions. Such repair should be conducted before application of any curing
compound (IPRF 2003).

J oint spalling: Joint spalling may occur due to (i) early joint sawing, (ii) use of wrong blade type, or (iii) poor operation of the sawing
equipment. Reforming manually the affected portions with fresh concrete is recommended for isolated joint spalling problems.
Full depth cracking: Full depth cracking of newly constructed pavement can occur due to one or combination of the following reasons
(IPRF 2003):
Provide a link to the 'Slip form paving system' discussed in lecture 'construction of concrete pavement'
Late transverse joint sawing or insufficient depth of sawing.
Misaligned dowel bars.
Excessive curling and/or warping.
Rapid surface cooling.
Early age loading by construction equipment.
Excessive drying shrinkage.
Excessive base frictional restraint.
Complete replacement of the affected slab is generally recommended for such a situation. The removal of the affected slab
should be done panel by panel using some saw cutting tool (IPRF 2003), and not by any impact-type tool. Repair of other
common distresses
J oint seal failure: If the pavement is not badly deteriorated, but the joint seals are showing signs of failure (i.e. missing or debonded
sealant) - joint resealing is an appropriate action (ACPA 1993). Hot or cold poured liquid sealants can be used for resealing purpose.
The old sealant needs to be removed, and the side walls of the joints need to be cleaned and made free from dust and moisture before
applying fresh sealants.
Loss of support: The locations of loss of support can be detected by falling weight deflectometer, or other non-destructive techniques,
like infrared thermography, ground penetrating radar etc (Gordon et al. 1998,Moropoulou et al. 2001). One of the popular ways of
treating loss of support is by slab stabilization, where slab is not lifted, but the voids are filled by under-sealing, sub-sealing or pressure
grouting (ACPA 1994). Examples of these grouting materials are flyash grouts, asphalt, polyurethane etc.
Partial depth cracking: Partial depth repairing is done when the distress is confined to upper surface of the slab, spalling or fatigue
cracking is less severe, and the joints are still functional etc. Conventional portland cement, polymer based concrete or other
cementations materials are used for repair purpose. The type of the material chosen is based on (i) curing time, (ii) ambient
temperature, (iii) depth of cracks, (iv) expected performance etc (ACPA 1998). The repair area can be decided by sounding
technique with the help of a simple hammer.
Concrete is removed by sawing and light hammering from the chosen rectangular area, cleaned and bonding and patching materials
are applied (ACPA 1998). For cracks of low severity, crack-stitching can be performed, which involves applying steel reinforced
cement, which helps to hold the cracks tightly (ACPA 1997).
Full depth cracking: Full depth repair is recommended for cracks extended to the full depth of the pavements. Full depth repair takes
care of blowups, corner breaks, transverse cracking, longitudinal cracking, severe joint spalling etc (ACPA 1995). Conventional
portland cement concrete, with suitable additives, if required, is generally used for full depth repair. Same procedure, as that of partial
depth repair, is adopted for the full depth. Epoxy coated dowel bar/ tie bars are suitably replaced in their designed positions.
Compacting, finishing, curing, sawing, joint sealing, texturing etc are done as required (ACPA 1995).
Surface irregularities and loss of skid resistance: The improvement of skid resistance and removal of surface irregularities can be
done by grinding and grooving . Equipment fitted with closely spaced diamond blades/ discs are used for this purpose (ACPA
2000, Villemagne et al. 1996 ). Sometimes, riding quality related defects are treated with suitable bituminous surfacing (Villemagne et
al. 1996) or thin concrete overlay.
Weak load transfer at joints : Weak load transfer at the joints happen due to failure of dowel bars. New set of dowel bars (or wedging
system ) can be placed by machining by impact or by sawing (Villemagne et al. 1996). However, replacement of dowel bars is a
difficult, costly and time-taking process. Blocking of the whole joint with pressure grouting could be another alternative.
Closing remarks
The proper timing at which maintenance needs to be initiated, is an important consideration. Sometimes certain limiting values are
suggested on the functional or structural serviceability (say, in terms of present serviceability rating, international roughness index etc.)
conditions of the pavement. If the serviceability rating falls below (or exceeds) certain specified limits, maintenance of pavement is
initiated.
Recapitulation
Various distresses of concrete pavement can be grossly categorized as, cracking, joint deficiencies, surface defects and other
types.
Maintenance strategies adopted for treatment of early stage distress of concrete pavement are generally different than the
treatment of distresses which show up gradually with the movement of traffic.
Most of the structural repair techniques of concrete pavement generally involve application of fresh concrete or other types
binding agents. Slab replacement is generally suggested for major distresses. Joint filling, re-grooving, re-texturing can be
considered as some of the functional maintenance strategies.
Selection of proper timing for maintenance activity is an important consideration. Sometimes, certain limiting values of
structural or functional serviceability conditions are suggested; if the serviceability rating falls below/ exceeds certain specified
limits, maintenance of pavement is initiated.