RIGID PAVEMENT DESIGN

Rigid pavements are generally used in constructing airports and major highways, such as
those in the interstate highway system. In addition, they commonly serve as heavy-duty
industrial floor slabs, port and harbor yard pavements, and heavy-vehicle park or terminal
pavements. Like flexible pavements, rigid highway pavements are designed as all-
weather, long-lasting structures to serve modern day high-speed traffic. Offering high
quality riding surfaces for safe vehicular travel, they function as structural layers to
distribute vehicular wheel loads in such a manner that the induced stresses transmitted to
the subgrade soil are of acceptable magnitudes.

Portland cement concrete (PCC) is the most common material used in the construction of
rigid pavement slabs. The reason for its popularity is due to its availability and the
economy. Rigid pavements must be designed to endure frequently repeated traffic
loadings. The typical designed service life of a rigid pavement is between 30 and 40
years, lasting about twice as long as a flexible pavement.

One major design consideration of rigid pavements is reducing fatigue failure due to the
repeated stresses of traffic. Fatigue failure is common among major roads because a
typical highway will experience millions of wheel passes throughout its service life. In
addition to design criteria such as traffic loadings, tensile stresses due to thermal energy
must also be taken into consideration. As pavement design has progressed, many highway
engineers have noted that thermally induced stresses in rigid pavements can be just as
intense as those imposed by wheel loadings. Due to the relatively low tensile strength of
concrete, thermal stresses are extremely important to the design considerations of rigid
pavements.

Rigid pavements are generally constructed in three layers - a prepared subgrade, base or
subbase, and a concrete slab. The concrete slab is constructed according to a designed
choice of plan dimensions for the slab panels, directly influencing the intensity of thermal
stresses occurring within the pavement. In addition to the slab panels, temperature

1
reinforcements must be designed to control cracking behavior in the slab. Joint spacing is
determined by the slab panel dimensions.

Three main types of concrete pavements commonly used are Jointed plain concrete
pavement (JPCP), jointed reinforced concrete pavement (JRCP), and continuously
reinforced concrete pavements (CRCP). JPCPs are constructed with contraction joints
which direct the natural cracking of the pavement. These pavements do not use any
reinforcing steel. JRCPs are constructed with both contraction joints and reinforcing
steel to control the cracking of the pavement. High temperatures and moisture stresses
within the pavement creates cracking, which the reinforcing steel holds tightly together.
At transverse joints, dowel bars are typically placed to assist with transferring the load of
the vehicle across the cracking. CRCPs solely rely on continuous reinforcing steel to
hold the pavements natural transverse cracks together. Prestressed concrete pavements
have also been used in the construction of highways; however, they are not as common as
the other three. Prestressed pavements allow for a thinner slab thickness by partly or
wholly neutralizing thermally induced stresses or loadings.

2
Elements of a Typical Rigid Pavement

A typical rigid pavement has three elements:

i) Subgrade
ii) Sub-Base
iii) Concrete Slab

i) Subgrade
Subgrade is the in situ soil over which the pavement structure is supported.
o Stiffness of the subgrade is measured by modulus of subgrade reaction
(K).
o K is determined with the assumption that the slab is resting on dense fluid
and thus the reactive pressure of soil on pavement is linearly proportional
to the deflection of the slab.
o Value of K is widely dependant upon the soil type, soil density, and
moisture content.
o K is determined by plate bearing test.

ii) Sub-Base
Sub-base is the layer of selected granular materials placed on the subgrade soil
and immediately below the concrete pavement
o It is provided for the following purposes
o To provide an uniform and reasonable firm pavement support.
o To prevent mud pumping.
o To provide levelling course on undulated and distorted subgrade.
o To act as capillary cut off.
It is not a part of the rigid pavement structure as it is not provided to impart
strength to the pavement structure.
Construction of subbase is generally done by

3
 o Granular material like natural gravel, crushed slag, crushed concrete, brick
metal, laterite, soil aggregate etc.
o Granular construction like WBM or WMM
o Stabilized soil
o Semi rigid material like Lime clay Puzzolana Concrete, Lime Flyash
Concrete, Dry Lean Concrete.

iii) Concrete Slab

Concrete Slab is designed on the basis of flexural strength of concrete.
Due to repeated application of flexural stresses by the traffic loads, progressive
fatigue damage takes place in the cement concrete slab in the form of gradual
development of microcracks.
The ration between flexural stress due to the load and the flexural strength of
concrete is termed as the Stress Ratio (SR). If SR < 0.45 the concrete is expected
to sustain infinite number of repetition.
Various properties of concrete as recommended for use as rigid pavement are
o Flexural strength: 45 kg/cm2;
o Modulus of Elasticity: 3 x 105 kg/cm2;
o Poisson's ratio: 0.15;
o Coefficient of thermal expansion: 10 x 106 /C.

4
 RIGID PAVEMENTS

Rigid pavements have sufficient flexural strength to transmit the wheel load stresses to a
wider area below. A typical cross section of the rigid pavement is shown in Figure 1.
Compared to flexible pavement, rigid pavements are placed either directly on the
prepared sub-grade or on a single layer of granular or stabilized material. Since there is
only one layer of material between the concrete and the sub-grade, this layer can be
called as base or sub-base course.

Figure 1: Typical Cross section of Rigid pavement

In rigid pavement, load is distributed by the slab action, and the pavement behaves like
an elastic plate resting on a viscous medium (Figure 2). Rigid pavements are constructed
by Portland cement concrete (PCC) and should be analyzed by plate theory instead of
layer theory, assuming an elastic plate resting on viscous foundation. Plate theory is a
simplified version of layer theory that assumes the concrete slab as a medium thick plate
which is plane before loading and to remain plane after loading. Bending of the slab due
to wheel load and temperature variation and the resulting tensile and flexural stress.

Figure 2: Elastic plate resting on viscous foundation

5
 Figure 3: Deflection on concrete pavement

Types of Rigid Pavements

Rigid pavements can be classified into four types:
1. Jointed Plain Concrete Pavement:
2. Jointed Reinforced Concrete Pavement:
3. Continuous Reinforced Concrete Pavement:
4. Jointed Reinforced Concrete Pavement (JRCP)
5. Roller-compacted concrete (RCC) pavement
6. Pervious concrete pavement

6
1. Jointed Plain Concrete Pavement:

Jointed plain concrete pavement (JPCP) uses contraction joints to control cracking and
does not use any reinforcing steel. Transverse joint spacing is selected such that
temperature and moisture stresses do not produce intermediate cracking between joints.
This typically results in a spacing no longer than about 6.1 m (20 ft.). Dowel bars are
typically used at transverse joints to assist in load transfer. Tie bars are typically used at
longitudinal joints.

Figure 4: Jointed Plain Concrete Pavement (JPCP)

Jointed Plain Concrete Pavement (JPCP) are plain cement concrete pavements
constructed with closely spaced contraction joints. Dowel bars or aggregate interlocks are
normally used for load transfer across joints. They normally has a joint spacing of 5 to
10m.

7
Properties

Crack Control
Contraction joints, both transverse and longitudinal

Joint Spacing
Typically between 3.7 m (12 ft.) and 6.1 m (20 ft.). Due to the nature of concrete, slabs
longer than about 6.1 m (20 ft.) will usually crack in the middle. Depending upon
environment and materials slabs shorter than this may also crack in the middle.

Reinforcing Steel
None.

Load Transfer
Aggregate interlock and dowel bars. For low-volume roads aggregate interlock is often
adequate. However, high-volume roads generally require dowel bars in each transverse
joint to prevent excessive faulting.

Other Info
A majority of U.S. State DOTs build JPCP because of its simplicity and proven
performance.

8
2. Jointed Reinforced Concrete Pavement:

Jointed reinforced concrete pavement (JRCP, see Figure 5) uses contraction

joints and reinforcing steel to control cracking. Transverse joint spacing is longer than
that for JPCP and typically ranges from about 7.6 m (25 ft.) to 15.2 m (50 ft.).
Temperature and moisture stresses are expected to cause cracking between joints, hence
reinforcing steel or a steel mesh is used to hold these cracks tightly together. Dowel
bars are typically used at transverse joints to assist in load transfer while the reinforcing
steel/wire mesh assists in load transfer across cracks.

Figure 5: Jointed Reinforced Concrete Pavement (JRCP)

Although reinforcements do not improve the structural capacity significantly, they can
drastically increase the joint spacing to 10 to 30m. Dowel bars are required for load
transfer. Reinforcements help to keep the slab together even after cracks.

Properties

Crack Control
Contraction joints as well as reinforcing steel.

9
Joint Spacing
Longer than JPCP and up to a maximum of about 15 m (50 ft.). Due to the nature of
concrete, the longer slabs associated with JRCP will crack.
Reinforcing Steel
A minimal amount is included mid-slab to hold cracks tightly together. This can be in the
form of deformed reinforcing bars or a thick wire mesh.

Load Transfer
Dowel bars and reinforcing steel. Dowel bars assist in load transfer across transverse
joints while reinforcing steel assists in load transfer across mid-panel cracks.

Other Info
During construction of the interstate system, most agencies in the Eastern and
Midwestern U.S. built JRCP. Today only a handful of agencies employ this design
(ACPA, 2001[1]).
In general, JRCP has fallen out of favor because of inferior performance when compared
to JPCP and CRCP.

10
3. Continuous Reinforced Concrete Pavement:

Complete elimination of joints are achieved by reinforcement.

Continuously reinforced concrete pavement (CRCP, see Figure 6) does not require any
contraction joints. Transverse cracks are allowed to form but are held tightly together
with continuous reinforcing steel. Research has shown that the maximum allowable
design crack width is about 0.5 mm (0.02 inches) to protect against spalling and water
penetration (CRSI, 1996[1]). Cracks typically form at intervals of 1.1 2.4 m (3.5 8
ft.). Reinforcing steel usually constitutes about 0.6 0.7 percent of the cross-sectional
pavement area and is located near mid-depth in the slab. Typically, No. 5 and No. 6
deformed reinforcing bars are used.

During the 1970s and early 1980s, CRCP design thickness was typically about 80
percent of the thickness of JPCP. However, a substantial number of these thinner
pavements developed distress sooner than anticipated and as a consequence, the current
trend is to make CRCP the same thickness as JPCP (FHWA, June 1990[2]). The
reinforcing steel is assumed to only handle nonload-related stresses and any structural
contribution to resisting loads is ignored.

Figure 6: Continuous Reinforced Concrete Pavement

11
4. Jointed Reinforced Concrete Pavement (JRCP)

Jointed reinforced concrete pavements (JRCP) contain steel mesh reinforcement

(sometimes called distributed steel). In JRCP, designers intentionally increase the joint
spacing and include reinforcing steel to hold together mid-panel cracks. The spacing
between transverse joints is typically 30 ft (9 m) or more with some agencies using a
spacing as great as 100 ft (30.5 m). During construction of the interstate system, most
agencies in the Eastern and Midwestern U.S. built JRCP. Today only a handful of
agencies employ this design due to performance issues caused by the embedded steel
being incapable of holding together mid-panel cracking and the resultant erosion/faulting
of such cracks.

Figure 7: Jointed Reinforced Concrete Pavement

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5. Roller-compacted concrete (RCC) pavement

Roller-compacted concrete (RCC) pavements are a type of concrete pavement that do not
include embedded steel or load transfer devices and typically is not jointed due to its
method of placement. Load transfer is provided in an RCC pavement by way of enhanced
aggregate interlock developed due to the compaction of the fresh RCC in addition to an
optimized aggregate gradation that includes a higher percentage of fine aggregates
relative to conventional paving concrete. The strength development is much quicker
relative to conventional paving concrete (see figure to the right) due to the enhanced
aggregate interlock provided by a dense, well-graded aggregate gradation. The dry nature
of RCC, along with its dense aggregate gradation, allows the pavement to be compacted
using vibratory rollers. It is typically specified that within 45-60 minutes of mixing, final
compaction should be completed.

Additionally, RCC is unlike the other concrete pavement types because it is placed using
a paver (which could be a high density paver or a typical paver used for asphalt paving)
and compacted with rollers similar to the process of asphalt paving.

A detailed background can be found in the Guide For Roller-Compacted Concrete

Pavements.

6. Pervious concrete pavement

Pervious concrete pavements include no embedded steel or load transfer devices; such
pavements do not fail by erosion/faulting. Joints may or may not be formed into the
concrete before it has set or cracks may be allowed to develop naturally. Pervious
concrete pavements can be used to help drain water quickly from the pavement surface.

13
Failure Criteria of Rigid Pavements

Traditionally fatigue cracking has been considered as the major, or only criterion for rigid
pavement design. The allowable number of load repetitions to cause fatigue cracking
depends on the stress ratio between flexural tensile stress and concrete modulus of
rupture. Of late, pumping is identified as an important failure criterion. Pumping is the
ejection of soil slurry through the joints and cracks of cement concrete pavement, caused
during the downward movement of slab under the heavy wheel loads. Other major types
of distress in rigid pavements include faulting, spalling, and deterioration.

14
Problems
1. The thin layer of bitumen coating between an existing bituminous layer and a new
bituminous layer is:
a. Seal coat
b. Intermediate coat
c. Tack coat
d. Prime coat
2. Rigid pavements are designed by
a. Rigid plate theory
b. Elastic plate theory
c. Infinite layer theory
d. Interlocking of aggregates

15
Solutions
1. The thin layer of bitumen coating between an existing
bituminous layer and a new bituminous layer is:
a. Seal coat Intermediate coat
b. Tack coat
c. Prime coat
e. Rigid pavements are designed by
a. Rigid plate theory
b. Elastic plate theory
c. Infinite layer theory
d. Interlocking of aggregates

16
Westergaard Analysis
H. M. Westergaard is considered to be pioneer person in rigid pavement design.
The basic assumptions in Westergaard (1925) analysis for computation of stresses
are
o Concrete slab acts as a homogenous, isotropic, and elastic solid in
equilibrium.
o The reaction of subgrade are vertical only and they are proportional to the
deflection of the slab. This reaction of subgrade per unit area at any given
point is equal to a constant K multiplied by the deflection at that point.
o The thickness of the slab is uniform.
o The load at the interior and at the corner of the slab is distributed
uniformly over a circular area of contact.
o For corner loading the circumference of the area of contact is tangential to
the edge of the slab.
o For the load at the edge of the slab is uniformly distributed over a semi
circular area contact. The diameter of the semicircle is with the edge of
the slab.

Critical Stress Locations

Interior: This is the position within the slab which is at any place remote from all
the edges.
Edge: This is the position of the slab which is situated in the edge, remote from
the corners.
Corner: This is the position which is situated at the bisector of the corner angle.

17
 Figure 8: Critical Stress Locations

Stresses due to Wheel Load

Under the wheel load the interior and the edge of the slab behaves like a simple
supported beam having tension at the bottom.
Under the action of wheel load corner may behave as a cantilever specially when
the slab is casted panel by panel.
The maximum tensile stress may be found at corner as this location is considered
as discontinuous from all the directions.
As the edge is discontinuous in one direction this location may encounter lesser
stress than the corner.
Loads applied at the longitudinal edge can produce more stress than that at the
transverse edge.
Least stress is occurred at the interior as this position of the slab is continuous in
all directions.

Computation of Stress at Edge Location

The original equations of Westergaard has been modified by several researchers.
As per IRC the stresses due to wheel load may be determined by the software
IITRIGID developed at IIT Kharagpur.
The stresses at edge may also be computed by the following equation as modified
by Teller & Sutherland.

Relative stiffness of slab to subgrade

A certain degree of resistance to slab deflection is offered by the subgrade.
The subgrade deformation is same as the slab deflection. Hence the slab
deflection is direct measurement of the magnitude of the subgrade pressure.

18
 The resistance to deformation depends on the stiffness of the supporting medium
as well as on the flexural stiffness the slab.
This pressure deformation characteristics of rigid pavement lead Westergaard to
define the term radius of relative stiffness (l). l in cm is given by

Equivalent Radius of Resisting Section

The wheel load concentrates on a small area of the pavement
The area of the pavement that is effective in resisting the bending moment due to
that load may be more than tyre imprint area.
The maximum bending moment occurs under the loaded area and acts radial in all
directions.
The area of the pavement that is effective in resisting the bending moment due to
a wheel load is known as Equivalent Radius of Resisting Section or also as Radius
of Equivalent Distribution of Pressure.

19
Critical Combination of Stresses

Combination of flexural stresses due to wheel load and that to temperature

warping provides the critical stress for design of rigid pavement.
Maximum combined stress at the three critical locations will occur when these
two stresses are additive.
Warping stresses at three locations decrease in the order of interior, edge and
corner whereas the wheel load stresses decrease in the order of corner, edge and
interior.
Therefore, critical stress condition is reached at edge location where neither wheel
load stress nor the warping stress is minimum.
Since at night due to warping the corner may behave as cantilever it is
recommended to check the wheel load stress at corner.

Joints in Rigid Pavement

The rigid pavement slab is deliberately divided into blocks of appropriate sizes in
order to take care the effects of temperature friction stress or stresses due to
moisture variation.
These deliberate planes of weaknesses in the slab are known as joints. A good
joint should have the following functional requirements:
Must be waterproof [proper sealing to be provided]
Riding quality should not be deteriorated
Should not make any structural weakness [for example staggered joints should be
avoided]

20
Joints in Rigid Pavement

Classification of the joints according to location in the pavement

Longitudinal Joints
Transverse Joints

Figure 9: Joints in Rigid Pavement

21
Overview

As the name implies, rigid pavements are rigid i.e, they do not

flex much under loading like flexible pavements. They are

constructed using cement concrete. In this case, the load

carrying capacity is mainly due to the rigidity ad high modulus

of elasticity of the slab (slab action). H. M. Westergaard is

considered the pioneer in providing the rational treatment of

the rigid pavement analysis.

Modulus of sub-grade reaction

Westergaard considered the rigid pavement slab as a thin

elastic plate resting on soil sub-grade, which is assumed as a

dense liquid. The upward reaction is assumed to be

proportional to the deflection. Base on this assumption,

Westergaard defined a modulus of sub-grade reaction in

kg/cm given by where is the displacement level

22
taken as 0.125 cm and is the pressure sustained by the rigid

plate of 75 cm diameter at a deflection of 0.125 cm.

Relative stiffness of slab to sub-grade

A certain degree of resistance to slab deflection is offered by

the sub-grade. The sub-grade deformation is same as the slab

deflection. Hence the slab deflection is direct measurement of

the magnitude of the sub-grade pressure. This pressure

deformation characteristics of rigid pavement lead

Westergaard to the define the term radius of relative stiffness

in cm is given by the equation .

(1)

where E is the modulus of elasticity of cement concrete in

kg/cm (3.0 10 ), is the Poisson's ratio of concrete (0.15),

is the slab thickness in cm and is the modulus of sub-

grade reaction.

23
Critical load positions

Since the pavement slab has finite length and width, either the

character or the intensity of maximum stress induced by the

application of a given traffic load is dependent on the location

of the load on the pavement surface. There are three typical

locations namely the interior, edge and corner, where differing

conditions of slab continuity exist. These locations are termed

as critical load positions.

Equivalent radius of resisting section

When the interior point is loaded, only a small area of the

pavement is resisting the bending moment of the plate.

Westergaard's gives a relation for equivalent radius of the

resisting section in cm in the equation .

(2)

where is the radius of the wheel load distribution in cm and

is the slab thickness in cm.

24
Wheel load stresses -

Westergaard's stress

equation

The cement concrete slab is assumed to be homogeneous and

to have uniform elastic properties with vertical sub-grade

reaction being proportional to the deflection. Westergaard

developed relationships for the stress at interior, edge and

corner regions, denoted as in kg/cm respectively

and given by the equation - .

(3)

(4)

25
 (5)

where is the slab thickness in cm, is the wheel load in kg,

is the radius of the wheel load distribution in cm, the radius

of the relative stiffness in cm and is the radius of the

resisting section in cm

Figure: Critical stress locations

Temperature stresses

Temperature stresses are developed in cement concrete

pavement due to variation in slab temperature. This is caused

by (i) daily variation resulting in a temperature gradient across

the thickness of the slab and (ii) seasonal variation resulting in

26
overall change in the slab temperature. The former results in

warping stresses and the later in frictional stresses.

Warping stress

The warping stress at the interior, edge and corner regions,

denoted as in kg/cm respectively and given by the

equation - .

(6)

(7)

(8)

27
where is the modulus of elasticity of concrete in kg/cm (3

10 ), is the thermal coefficient of concrete per C (1 10 )

is the temperature difference between the top and bottom of

the slab, and are the coefficient based on in the

desired direction and right angle to the desired direction,

is the Poisson's ration (0.15), is the radius of the contact

area and is the radius of the relative stiffness.

Frictional stresses

The frictional stress in kg/cm is given by the equation

(9)

where is the unit weight of concrete in kg/cm (2400), is

the coefficient of sub grade friction (1.5) and is the length of

the slab in meters.

28
Combination of stresses

The cumulative effect of the different stress give rise to the

following thee critical cases

Summer, mid-day: The critical stress is for edge region

given by

Winter, mid-day: The critical combination of stress is for

the edge region given by

Mid-nights: The critical combination of stress is for the

corner region given by

Design of joints

Expansion joints

The purpose of the expansion joint is to allow the expansion of

the pavement due to rise in temperature with respect to

construction temperature. The design consideration are:

Provided along the longitudinal direction,

29
 design involves finding the joint spacing for a given

expansion joint thickness (say 2.5 cm specified by IRC)

subjected to some maximum spacing (say 140 as per

IRC)

Figure: Expansion joint

Contraction joints

The purpose of the contraction joint is to allow the contraction

of the slab due to fall in slab temperature below the

construction temperature. The design considerations are:

The movement is restricted by the sub-grade friction

Design involves the length of the slab given by:

(10)

30
 where, is the allowable stress in tension in cement

concrete and is taken as 0.8 kg/cm , is the unit weight

of the concrete which can be taken as 2400 kg/cm and

is the coefficient of sub-grade friction which can be

taken as 1.5.

Steel reinforcements can be use, however with a

maximum spacing of 4.5 m as per IRC.

Figure: Contraction joint

Dowel bars

The purpose of the dowel bar is to effectively transfer the load

between two concrete slabs and to keep the two slabs in same

height. The dowel bars are provided in the direction of the

traffic (longitudinal). The design considerations are:

31
 Mild steel rounded bars,

bonded on one side and free on other side

Bradbury's analysis

Bradbury's analysis gives load transfer capacity of single dowel

bar in shear, bending and bearing as follows:

(11)

(12)

(13)

where, is the load transfer capacity of a single dowel bar in

shear , bending and bearing , is the diameter of the bar

in cm, is the length of the embedment of dowel bar in cm,

is the joint width in cm, are the permissible stress in

shear, bending and bearing for the dowel bar in kg/cm .

32
Design procedure

Step Find the length of the dowel bar embedded in slab by

equating Eq. =Eq. , i.e.

(14)

Step Find the load transfer capacities , , and of single

dowel bar with the

Step Assume load capacity of dowel bar is 40 percent wheel

load, find the load capacity factor f as

(15)

Step Spacing of the dowel bars.

Effective distance upto which effective load transfer take

place is given by , where is the radius of relative

stiffness.

33
 Assume a linear variation of capacity factor of 1.0 under

load to 0 at .

Assume a dowel spacing and find the capacity factor of

the above spacing.

Actual capacity factor should be greater than the required

capacity factor.

If not, do one more iteration with new spacing.

Example

Design size and spacing of dowel bars at an expansion joint of

concrete pavement of thickness 25 cm. Given the radius of

relative stiffness of 80 cm. design wheel load 5000 kg. Load

capacity of the dowel system is 40 percent of design wheel

load. Joint width is 2.0 cm and the permissible stress in shear,

bending and bearing stress in dowel bars are 1000,1400 and

100 respectively.

34
Solution:

Given, , , , ,

, and ; and

assume diameter.

Step-1: length of the dowel bar

Solve for by trial and error:

put put put

Minimum length of the dowel bar is

35
 , So, provide long and

. Therefore .

Step 2: Find the load transfer capacity of single dowel bar

Therefore, the required load transfer capacity

Step-3 : Find the required spacing: Effective distance of load

transfer . Assuming spacing,

Actual capacity is

36
Therefore assume spacing and now the actual capacity is

Therefore provide mild steel dowel bars of length

center to center.

Tie bars

In contrast to dowel bars, tie bars are not load transfer

devices, but serve as a means to tie two slabs. Hence tie bars

must be deformed or hooked and must be firmly anchored into

the concrete to function properly. They are smaller than dowel

bars and placed at large intervals. They are provided across

longitudinal joints.

37
Step Diameter and spacing: The diameter and the spacing is

first found out by equating the total sub-grade friction tot he

total tensile stress for a unit length (one meter). Hence the

area of steel per one meter in is given by:

(16)

where, is the width of the pavement panel in , is the

depth of the pavement in , is the unit weight of the

concrete (assume ), is the coefficient of friction

(assume ), and is the allowable working tensile stress in

steel (assume ). Assume to bars for

the design.

Step Length of the tie bar: Length of the tie bar is twice the

length needed to develop bond stress equal to the working

tensile stress and is given by:

38
 (17)

where, is the diameter of the bar, is the allowable tensile

stress in , and is the allowable bond stress and can

be assumed for plain and deformed bars respectively as

and .

Example

A cement concrete pavement of thickness 18 cm, has two

lanes of 7.2 m with a joint. Design the tie bars. (Solution:)

Given h=18 cm, b=7.2/2=3.6m,

. Step 1: diameter

and spacing: Get from

39
Assume . Therefore spacing is

, say Step 2: Length of the bar: Get

from

[Ans] Use tie bars of length of

Summary

Design of rigid pavements is based on Westergaard's analysis,

where modulus of subgrade reaction, radius of relative

stiffness, radius of wheel load distribution are used. For critical

40
design, a combination of load stress, frictional stress and

warping stress is considered. Different types of joints are

required like expansion and contraction joints. Their design is

also dealt with.

Problems

1. Design size and spacing of dowel bars at an expansion

joint of concrete pavement of thickness 20 cm. Given the

radius of relative stiffness of 90 cm. design wheel load

4000 kg. Load capacity of the dowel system is 40 percent

of design wheel load. Joint width is 3.0 cm and the

permissible stress in shear, bending and bearing stress in

dowel bars are 1000,1500 and 100 respectively.

2. Design the length and spacing of tie bars given that the

pavement thickness is 20cm and width of the road is 7m

with one longitudinal joint. The unit weight of concrete is

2400 , the coefficient of friction is 1.5, allowable

41
 working tensile stress in steel is 1750 , and bond

stress of deformed bars is 24.6 .

Solutions

1. Given, , , , ,

, and ;

and assume diameter.

Step-1: length of the dowel bar ,

42
Solving for by trial and error, it is =39.5cm Minimum

length of the dowel bar is ,

So, provide long and . Therefore

Step 2: Find the load transfer capacity of single dowel bar

Therefore, the required load transfer capacity (refer

equation)

43
Step-3 : Find the required spacing: Effective distance of

load transfer . Assuming

spacing,

Actual capacity is

Assuming 40cm spacing, capacity is,

44
 So we should consider 2.52>2.335 as it is greater and

more near to other value. Therefore provide mild

steel dowel bars of length center to center.

2. 2.Given h=20 cm, b=7/2=3.5m,

. Step 1:

diameter and spacing:

Assume . Therefore spacing is

, say Step 2: Length of the

bar:

45
 [Ans] Use tie bars of length of

Rigid Pavement Empirical Design

Example

Design a new rigid pavement for a major interstate highway using the following

conditions (four lanes each direction):

Pavement location: Urban

Pavement functional
Interstate
classification:
Number of lanes: 3 lanes in each direction
Traffic distribution: Assume 80% of the loading occurs in the design lane
Annual growth rate: Assume 2%
Design period: Investigate 20, 30 and 40 year design periods
PCC Ec = 31,026 MPa (4,500,000 psi)
Construction Materials:
PCC Sc = 5.17 MPa (750 psi)
Load Transfer: Use dowel bars and assume J = 3.2
Overall serviceability
po pt = 4.5 3.0 = 1.5
loss:

46
 Investigate three levels: R = 90%, R = 95%, R = 99%. This

Reliability: represents a typical range of reliability levels encountered for

Interstate highways.
o: 0.40
Drainage coefficient
1.0 (usually assumed if no better data exist)
(Cd):
Loss of support: 1.0
Single unit trucks (assume 0.34 ESALs per truck) = 1872/day

Double unit trucks (assume 1.00 ESALs per truck) = 1762/day

Traffic count:
Truck trains trucks with more than 2 units (assume 2.60 ESALs

per truck) = 247/day

Solution

By looking at several different design periods and reliability levels this example gives an

idea of the relative influence of these inputs. Work can be verified by using the Rigid

Pavement Design Utility.

ESALs per year

This step involves converting the daily traffic volume into an annual ESAL amount.

Pavements are typically designed for the critical lane or design lane, which accounts

for traffic distribution.

ESALs per year = (Vehicles/day) (Lane Distribution Factor) (days/yr) (ESALs/Vehicle)

Singles: (1872/day) (0.8) (365) (0.34) = 185,852 ESALs/yr

Doubles: (762/day) (0.8) (365) (1.00) = 514,504 ESALs/yr
Trains: (247/day) (0.8) (365) (2.60) = 187,522 ESALs/yr

47
 Total = 887,878 ESALs/yr
Rounded total = 890,000 ESALs/yr

Design ESALs

The standard multiplier to calculate compound growth is:

20 year design life

30 year design life

40 year design life

Calculate the Effective Modulus of Subgrade Reaction (k)

This calculation is a multi-step process In the 1993 AASHTO Guide for Design of

Pavement Structures. Basically, the steps are as follows:

48
 1. Determine the roadbed resilient modulus and the subbase elastic modulus and use

these values along with a projected slab thickness to graphically determine a

composite modulus of subgrade reaction (k:).

2. Modify this k: to account for the effects of a rigid foundation near the surface. The

idea here is that the subgrade will offer greater support if a rigid foundation (such

as bedrock) is located very near the surface.

3. Determine how this modified composite modulus of subgrade reaction (or k-

value) varies throughout a typical year. Typically this is done by season or by

month.

4. Using a projected slab thickness and a modulus of subgrade reaction that has been

modified to account for the effects of a rigid foundation near the surface, use a

graph to determine the relative influence the various k-values throughout the year

will have on pavement performance. Lower values of k, indicating less support,

are potentially more damaging than higher values of k, indicating more support.

Therefore, lower values of k are weighted more heavily in determining the

weighted average.

5. Correct the weighted average k-value to account for the potential loss of support

arising from subbase erosion. Subbase materials that are more prone to eroding

will result in a larger downward correction to the k-value determined in step 4.

The 1993 AASHTO Guide for Design of Pavement Structures and its associated graphs

are needed to carry out this procedure because most steps involve graphical solutions.

Although these graphs are not reproduced here, a summary results table is shown below.

49
 Relative Damage
Month MR Subbase MR Composite k
(ur)
86 MPa (12,500 3,447 MPa (500,000
January 950 95
psi) psi)
86 MPa (12,500 3,447 MPa (500,000
February 950 95
psi) psi)
86 MPa (12,500 3,447 MPa (500,000
March 950 95
psi) psi)
86 MPa (12,500 3,447 MPa (500,000
April 1,000 92
psi) psi)
103 MPa (15,000 3,447 MPa (500,000
May 1,000 92
psi) psi)
103 MPa (15,000 3,447 MPa (500,000
June 1,000 92
psi) psi)
103 MPa (15,000 3,447 MPa (500,000
July 1,000 92
psi) psi)
103 MPa (15,000 3,447 MPa (500,000
August 1,000 92
psi) psi)
103 MPa (15,000 3,447 MPa (500,000
September 1,000 92
psi) psi)
103 MPa (15,000 3,447 MPa (500,000
October 950 92
psi) psi)
86 MPa (12,500 3,447 MPa (500,000
November 950 95
psi) psi)
86 MPa (12,500 3,447 MPa (500,000
December 950 95
psi) psi)

50
average relative damage =

Based on Figure 3.5 in the 1993 AASHTO Guide for Design of Pavement Structures, k

980.

Based on Figure 3.6 in the 1993 AASHTO Guide for Design of Pavement Structures a

Loss of Support = 1.0 results in keff 250.

Use the 1993 AASHTO Empirical Equation

Using the previously calculated ESAL results and the 1993 AASHTO empirical rigid

pavement design equation the following pavement thickness designs can be calculated:

Layer Thickness
Design Design Period Pavement
Reliability = Reliability = Reliability =
Period ESALs Layer
90% 95% 99%
PCC Surface 280 mm 305 mm 330 mm

Course (11 inches) (12 inches) (13 inches)

HMA Base 100 mm 100 mm 100 mm
20 years 22,000,000
Course (4 inches) (4 inches) (4 inches)
Crushed Stone 135 mm 135 mm 135 mm

Subbase Course (5.4 inches) (5.4 inches) (5.4 inches)

30 years 36,000,000 PCC Surface 305 mm 320 mm 355 mm

Course (12 inches) (12.5 inches) (14 inches)

HMA Base 100 mm 100 mm 100 mm

51
 Course (4 inches) (4 inches) (4 inches)
Crushed Stone 135 mm 135 mm 135 mm

Subbase Course (5.4 inches) (5.4 inches) (5.4 inches)

PCC Surface 330 mm 345 mm 380 mm

Course (13 inches) (13.5 inches) (15 inches)

HMA Base 100 mm 100 mm 100 mm
40 years 54,000,000
Course (4 inches) (4 inches) (4 inches)
Crushed Stone 135 mm 135 mm 135 mm

Subbase Course (5.4 inches) (5.4 inches) (5.4 inches)

In this particular example, which only shows one set of possible solutions, the HMA base

course and crushed stone subbase course layer depths were kept constant and the PCC

surface course depth was varied depending upon requirements. Notice that a change in

reliability level from 90% to 99% results in a PCC slab thickness increase of about 50

mm (2 inches). The 380 mm (15 inch) thick slab shown for the 40-year design (99%

reliability) is probably near the maximum practical slab thickness for highway

pavements.

52
 CONSTRUCTION OF RIGID PAVEMENT

7.0 INTRODUCTION

Cement concrete roads are very high standard. They are costliest than all

other types of roads. These roads provide excellent riding surface and pleasing

appearance. They are called rigid pavements because they do not allow any

flexibility.

These roads although require initial heavy expenditure but because of

their long span of life, excellent riding surface and negligible maintenance cost,

they prove cheaper than bitumen roads. Moreover engineers have more

confidence in cement concrete material and they also like to construct these

roads.

7.1 ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF CONCRETE ROADS

The following are some of the advantages and disadvantages of cement

concrete roads:

Advantages

53
a. They provide excellent smooth surface for driving.

b. They can deal with very heavy traffic.

c. Considering their life span, maintenance cost etc, cement concrete

roads prove cheaper than bituminous roads.

d. Maintenance cost is negligible.

e. Their life span is very large.

f. Even after their span of life, they can be used as base course and

surfacing can be provided of bituminous materials.

g. Heating of aggregates and cement is not to be done.

h. They provide better visibility.

i. Working with cement concrete is much easier and safer than with

bituminous materials.

j. Cement concrete roads offer comparatively less attractive

resistance.

k. In high class cement concrete roads heavy rollers are not required

for compaction.

l. Handling of cement is easier than bitumen.

m. They perform quite satisfactorily when laid on poor types of sub

grades.

Disadvantages

a. They involve heavy initial investment.

54
 b. Lots of joints are to provide which prove additional places of

weakness.

c. 28 days curing is required after completion before they can be

opened to traffic.

d. It is not possible to adopt stage construction programmed in these

roads.

e. Cement concrete road surface after some time of use becomes

very smooth and slippery.

f. It is a noisy road, as bullock carts or steel tyred vehicles cause lot

of noise while moving on them.

7.2 CLASSIFICATION OF CEMENT CONCRETE ROADS

Cement concrete roads can be of following types. Out of all these types,

cement concrete slab roads, are most commonly used, and hence construction

details of this type of road are discussed in this topic.

a. Cement concrete slab pavements

b. Cement grouted macadam pavements

c. Roller concrete layer pavements.

d. Cement-bound macadam sandwich type.

e. Crete-ways.

55
a. Cement Concrete Slab Pavements.

In this type of cement concrete roads, cement, sand, coarse

aggregate water are premixed in batch mixtures to form cement concrete.

Cement concrete so prepared is spread on the prepared sub grade or sub

base and consolidated with the help of vibrators or tamper and surface

finished smooth.

In this construction, joints at frequent intervals both longitudinally

and transversely are provided to nullify the harmful effects of contraction

and expansion due to variation in temperature and also during setting.

b. Cement Grouted Macadam Pavements.

In this type of construction, Water Bound Macadam layer or

stabilized soil is used as foundation. Existing foundation layer is

reconditioned to correct grade and profile and a loose layer of road metal

or coarse aggregate of 36 to 50 mm size is laid in 125 cm thickness. This

coarse aggregate layer is rolled lightly dry to a compacted thickness of

about 10 cm. Minimum size of coarse aggregate should not be less than

20 mm as sufficient void spaces are to be deliberately left in this rolled

layer.

56
 Cement and sand are taken in ration of about 1:2 and grout is

prepared by adding sufficient quantity of water in it. Cement-sand mix,

having one bag cement, requires about 35 liters water to form a fluid

mortar to be used as grout. The grout so prepared is poured over the

lightly rolled macadam layer and allowed to seep into the voids

deliberately left in the macadam layer.

After grouting, stone chippings of size 5 mm and above, are spread

to smoothen the top finished surface and also to help rolling so that grout

is further helped in the process of penetration. Finished surface is checked

for trueness, camber and profile. The surface is lastly cured as usual.

Longitudinal and transverse joints should be provided at suitable interval.

c. Rolled Concrete Pavement

This construction consists of a lean premix of cement concrete

which is laid on the prepared sub grade of sub base and rolled with light

roller just like Water Bound Macadam Road construction. Rolling operation

should be finished before the final setting time of the cement. Curing has

to be done for 28 days as usual.

57
d. Cement Bound Macadam Sandwich Type

In this type of construction, Water Bound Macadam existing layer or

stabilized soil base are used as foundation or base. The base layer is

reconditioned by carrying out all sorts of repairs. Now take coarse

aggregate varying in size between 36 mm and 50 mm and spread it on the

prepared base. This layer is rolled dry to get a compacted thickness of

about 5 cm. Cement and sand are taken ratio of 1:2 and a stiff mortar is

made, using appropriate quantity of water (30 liters / cement bags).

This mortar is spread on the rolled surface in about 4 cm thick

layer. Now lay an other layer of coarse aggregate of the same size and

grading as is used below mortar layer, in a loose thickness of about 6 cm.

After spreading the second layer of coarse aggregate over stiff mortar

layer, rolling is done using heavy roller about 12 ton. By rolling, the mortar

layer is squeezed in to the voids of both the layers of coarse aggregate

(one layer above and another below mortar layer) and about 10 cm thick

combined layer developed.

Rolling should be stopped as soon as the mortar works up just to

the surface. After rolling, the surfacing is finished and checked for camber

and profile. Joints are provided at suitable intervals. This type of

construction is superior to the grouted macadam roads. These roads

58
exhibit rough texture on the surface and hence are useful in hilly areas,

where gradients are steep and other types of roads become slippery and

dangerous for use.

e. Crete-ways

Crete ways are track ways made with the help of cement concrete.

In village roads there is generally bullock cart traffic. It was originally

thought that if only that portion of the road is treated with concrete where

wheels of cart are to move lot of savings can be affected because width of

treatment to be provided shall be very small. In Crete ways, only 60 70

cm wide two parallel concrete strips, at centre to centre spacing of about

1.5 meters are constructed. The space between strips is left untreated or

may be treated with very inferior type of material. Thickness of strip may

vary from 10 15 cm.

Crete ways strips may be pre cast and then laid on the prepared

sub grade or they may be constructed by laying concrete directly at the

site, just in the same way as ordinary cement concrete roads. Crete ways

did not become popular due to following reasons:

a. While crossing, vehicles coming from opposing directions have

so get down crete way strips. Getting down and coming up, the

59
 crete way is very difficult, since space between strips and out

side the strips is soft and bullock carts get entrenched in it.

b. During rainy season, water may be held up in the kutcha portion

between strips. This may affect the foundation of the crete-ways

strips and may result is their subsequent settlement.

c. In dry weather, loose soil from kutcha space is blown off and a

trench type hollow space may be formed in between the strips.

In place of track ways of cement concrete, stone slabs covered with

bitumen surfacing can also be used. Sometimes, in case of city roads,

central part of the road is made from asphalt or bitumen surfacing, for use

of motor traffic, and on both of its sides there may be crete ways for

carrying bullock carts traffic. Such road in which some width is made from

bitumen and remaining from cement concrete, is known as conphalt road.

60
 STRUCTURAL PARTS OF CEMENT CONCRETE
ROADS AND CONSTRUCTION

7.3 STRUCTURE OF CEMENT CONCRETE ROADS

Concrete roads consist of following layers:

Cement concrete
pavement

Sub base course

Sub grade

Figure 8.1

Sub grade is concerned its most important property is not the actual

strength but uniformity of support. Sub base course of concrete road may be

made of Water Bound Macadam, granular material, or stabilized soil. In the case

of Water Bound Macadam base, thickness should be at least 15 cm and any new

layer of sub base should have been under traffic for some days to get properly

compacted.

Construction of cement concrete slab can be done in following two ways:

61
 a. Alternate bay system

b. Continuous construction.

a. Alternate Bay System

In this method of laying concrete, width of the road is divided into

longitudinal strips. The longitudinal strips are further sub-divided into

panels by providing transverse formwork. If the width of the road is just

one lane, full width is adopted as one longitudinal strip, but in the case of

more than one lane width, each lane is adopted as one longitudinal strip.

In short, the road surface is divided into panels. After this cement

concrete is filled in alternative panels or bays both longitudinally and

transversely. Size of the bay may be anything like 4 X 4 m, 3.6 X 4.6 m or

so. After a lapse of about one weak, remaining left out bays are also filled

with cement concrete. The object of adopting alternate bay system of

construction is to allow sufficient time to settle and shrink before adjoining

bays are filled. The method reduces the possibilities of developing

shrinkage base cracks. This system of construction suffers from following

draw backs:

62
 i. A large number of joints are developed which

increase the labour cost and also reduce the smooth

riding qualities of the resulting surface.

ii. During rain, water gets collected in the unfilled bays.

iii. Works are not finished at a stretch but a large length

of the road remains occupied at any moment. If full

width is involved, diversions for traffic will have to be

provided, thus causing difficulties to traffic and

increase in the cost over of all construction.

iv. Fully mechanized construction is not possible.

v. Progress of the work is very slow.

The only advantage of this method of construction is that joints can be

easily constructed. Figure 8.2 shows formation of bays on the surface of the

road. A, B, C bays are filled first and A, B, C bays subsequently after a laps of

about one week.

63
 Longitudinal Joint Transverse Joint

A B C
C

A B C

Figure 8.2

b. Continuous Construction

In this system of construction, continuous longitudinal strips are

constructed without any break. Width of the strip is generally kept one

lane. This method also helps in marking the traffic lanes after completion,

since longitudinal joints will demarcate the limit of each lane. The

construction joints are provided at the end of the days work. This method

of construction is preferred because of the following reasons:

i. Very few joints will be formed

ii. In case of roads having more than one lane width, no

diversion is required to be constructed. One lane may

64
 be adopted for construction at a time and remaining

lanes may continue to be used by the traffic. Although

traffic will face difficulties but there is no need

diversion.

Slab to be laid

Laid cement concrete

slab

Figure 8.3 plan of continuous system.

7.4 CONSTRUCTION STEPS OF CEMENT CONCRETE SLAB

PAVEMENTS.

Construction of cement concrete pavement involves following stages:

a. Preparation of sub grade.

b. Preparation of sub base.

c. Fixing of farm.

d. Batching of materials and mixing.

e. Carrying and placing concrete.

f. Compaction and finishing.

g. Floating and edging.

h. Belting and edging.

65
 i. Curing.

All these operations have been discussed one by one.

a. Preparation Of Sub Grade

Where formation soil is of very good quality, cement slab may

directly be laid over the prepared sub grade. The top 15 cm layer of the

sub grade should be compacted and checked for trueness by mean of

scratch template. Unevenness of the surface should not exceed 12 mm in

3 m length. Sub grade should be prepared and checked at least two days

in advance of concreting. It is desirable to lay a layer of water proofing

paper then even concrete can be laid directly over the soil sub grade.

Prepared sub grade should complete the following requirements:

i. There should not be any soft patches on the prepared

sub grade.

ii. Sub grade should present the uniform support to the

concrete slab.

iii. Should be properly drained.

iv. Minimum modulus of sub grade reaction obtained with

plate bearing test should be 5.5 kg / cm 2.

66
 v. If water proof paper is to be laid directly over the sub

grade, moistening of sub grade prior to placing of the

concrete over it, is not required. Moistening is

essential in case water proof papers is not used.

b. Preparation Of Sub Grade

When formation soil is very poor quality, or traffic load expected on

the pavement is very heavy, a 15 cm thick sub base layer may be used

over the prepared sub grade before lying of cement concrete slab. The

sub base slab may consist of:

i. One layer of flat brick soling below one layer of Water

Bound Macadam.

ii. Two layers of Water Bound Macadam may consists of

stone, hard rock, dense blast furnace slag, brick

aggregate or any other granular material which is not

likely to soften under action of water.

iii. Well graded soil gravel mixture.

iv. Soil stabilized with 3 4 % lime or cement.

v. Lime concrete or lean concrete giving 28 days

compressive strength in the field as 40 60 kg / cm 2.

vi. Existing macadam sub base.

vii. Existing black top surface sub base.

67
 From i to v, all the points are for new constructions and can be

adopted as per design requirements. But vi and vii points are for existing

sub base and thus have been given in details:

Existing Macadam Sub Base .In case concrete slabs are to be

laid on existing Water Bound Macadam roads, it should be seen that

Water Bound Macadam should extend at least 30 cm beyond the

proposed concrete slab edges. Water Bound Macadam should be at least

15 cm thick. If Water Bound Macadam surface is smaller in width than the

proposed width of the concrete slab up to 30 cm on either side, the extra

width may be developed by placing 10 cm of 1: 4: 8 lean cement concrete.

Black Topped Surface. Where concrete slab is to be laid over

existing black topped surface no special treatment is necessary.

Concrete should not be laid on black topped surfaces having soft spots

caused by excessive bitumen or where thick premixed carpets have been

rutted badly under traffic. In such cases entire surfacing material should

be removed up to the top of compacted macadam and the surface should

be prepared as explained in existing Water Bound Macadam surfaces.

c. Fixing Of Forms.

68
 Forms may be made from mild steel channel sections or wooden

planks. Depth of the forms should be equal to the thickness of the slab to

be provided. Length of the section for side forms is kept at least 3 m

except on curves of less than 45 m radius where shorter lengths Wooden

forms should be dress on one side and should have a minimum base

width of 10 mm for slab thickness of 20 cm and have a minimum base

width of 15 mm for slabs over 20 cm thickness. Deviation of more than 3

mm in a length of 3 m should not occur when forms are filled with

concrete. Sufficient number of stakes or pins should be put at the back of

the form to impart sufficient support to it.

d. Batching Of Materials And Mixing.

Cement is measured in number of bags. If cement stored in silos is

used, its weight is taken as 1440 kg / m 3. Course aggregate and fine

aggregates are batched in weigh batching plant and put into the hopper of

the mixer along with required quantity of cement. Water is measured by

volume. The mixing of each batch should be at least for 1 minutes

counted after all the materials have been put into the mixer.

69
 Channel
Spike of
Needles
A A

PLAN

Prepared Sub-
grade
Section at A-A

e. Carrying And Placing Of Concrete

Prepared premix is carried immediately to the place of actual use

by filling into wheel barrows, hand carts or baskets. While concreting, it

should be ensured that there is on segregation in the concrete. Concrete

put at site is spread uniformly as per requirements of the thickness of the

slab. While being placed, the concrete should be rodded so that the

formations of voids or honey comb pockets are prevented. The concrete

should be particularly well placed and tapped against the forms and along

all the joints.

70
f. Compaction And Finishing

After having uniformly spread, the concrete is compacted either

with the help of power-driven finishing machine or by vibrating screed. For

constrained areas like corners and junctions, hand compaction can be

done using tampers. Hand tamper is also known as hand tamping beam. It

consists of a wooden beam 10 cm wide and 25 cm depth. Length of the

tamping beam should be equal to the width of the slab plus 30 cm. A steel

plate is fixed at the under side of this beam. Tamper is used by placing it

on the side forms. Tampers are lifted and dropped to affect compaction.

Tamper beam is provided with handles to lift and drop.

g. Floating And Edging

After compaction, with vibrating screed or tamper, the concrete is

further compacted and smoothened by means of longitudinal floats. The

float is worked longitudinally with sawing motion from one edge of the

pavement to the other edge. After this operation, excess water gets

disappeared but while concrete is still plastic; the surface of the slab

should be tested for trueness with the help of 3 m straight edge.

71
 h. Belting and Edging

Just before the concrete becomes non-plastic, the surface should

be belted with the help of a two-ply canvas belt which is usually 20 cm

wide and at least 1 m longer than the width of the slab. The belt is worked

on the surface in transverse direction in short forward and back ward

strokes.

After belting and as soon as surplus water disappears from the

surface, the pavement is given a broomed finish with an approved steel or fiber

broom not less than 45 cm wide. The broom should be pulled gently over the

surface of the pavement from edge with each stroke slightly over lapping the

adjacent one.

After belting and brooming and before the concrete has taken initial

set, the edges of the slab should be carefully finished with an edger of 6

mm radius.

25 CM

ELEVATION

10 CM

PLAN

72
i. Curing

Immediately after finishing, the entire surface of the newly laid

concrete should be covered against rapid drying with wetted burlap, cotton

or jute mat. Covering operation with wet burlap is known as initial curing.

Burlap curing is carried out for at least two days. After this, wet burlaps are

removed and surface is covered either with damp saturated sand or with

free water. Final curing can also be done by applying an impervious

membrane which does not impart slipperiness to the pavement.

Impervious membrane which is in form of liquid, is applied under pressure,

covering the entire surface uniformly. The liquid may be applied

immediately after finishing of the surface and before the set of the cement

has taken place. If the pavement is first covered with burlap it may be

applied upon removal of the burlap. This method of curing can be adopted

at places where there is scarcity of water.

k. Final Surface Check

This check is done after curing period when curing sand has been

removed from the surface. Undulations in the surface should not exceed 6

mm in length of 3 m.

l. Removing The Forms.

73
 Forms should be removed after a lapse of about 12 hours from

placing of concrete. Forms should be removed carefully avoiding any

damage to the pavement edges.

m. Sealing Of The Joints.

After curing period, and before the pavement is opened to traffic, all

the joints should be cleared of intruded materials and suitable sealing

material put into them.

74
7.5 JOINTS IN CEMENT CONCRETE ROADS

Effective system of joints is essential feature in the successful functioning

of the cement concrete roads. Tie bars and dowel bars are provided to maintain

the strength of the pavement at the joints and also to act as load transfer

devices. Joints in cement concrete pavements can be classified under three

headings:

a. Expansion joints

b. Contraction joints

c. Warping or hinged joints

Expansion joints provide space into which pavement can expand. These

joints release compressive stresses developed in the concrete slab. Expansion

joints also relieve stresses caused by construction and warping.

Contraction joints relieve tension developed in the concrete due to

contraction. They prevent formation of irregular cracks contraction joints also

relieve stresses due to warping.

75
 Warping joints relieve stresses due to warping effect develops in the slab.

These joints are commonly used for longitudinal joints dividing the pavement into

lanes. Warping tendencies are set up in the concrete slab due to temperature

difference between top and bottom of the slab. At 12 noon the temperature at the

top surface of the slab will be higher than that at the bottom. This causes top

fibres of the slab to expand by larger amount than the bottom fibres and slab

warps down wards at the edges. Similarly at 12 night, the temperature of the

bottom of the slab is higher than the temperature at the top of the slab and slab

warps upwards at the edges. Weight of the slab tries to prevent this warping of

the slab and thus warping stresses are set up. Intensity of warping stress is

maximum at the interior and minimum at the edges.

Joints in concrete slab pavement can also be classified according to their

direction in relation to the road alignment. Joints constructed in the direction,

perpendicular to the alignment of the road are termed as transverse joints. Joints

constructed in the direction of alignment known as longitudinal joints.

a. Tranverse Joints

Arrangements of tranverse joints may be staggered, square or

skew. All these arrangements are shown in figure below. Out of these

arrangements, square arrangement is the best.

Dowel Bars Expansion Joints

76
 Tie Bars
Contraction Joints

Figure : Square System Of Joints

Staggered Transverse Joints

Dowel Bars
Longitudinal Joints

Cracks

Figure : Staggered System Of Joints

Cracks Skew Joints

Tie Bars

Figure : Skew System Of Joints

In case of staggered arrangement, it is seen that cracks known as

sympathetic cracks are developed in the adjoining longitudinal strip just in front of

77
transverse joints already provided skew arrangement should not be adopted

because in this case acute corners generally get crushed away. Transverse joints

can be further classified as follows:

i. expansion joints

ii. contraction joints

iii. warping joints

iv. construction joints

b. Longitudinal Joints.

Spacing of longtudinal joints are determined by the lane widths. If

during consruction of the slab, hand tamping or vibrating hand screeds

have been used, the spacing should be limited to 4 m. Where machines

have been used for all the process involved in concreting and at the time,

more than 6 m width is being laid, an intermediate longitudinal joints

should be provided either by sawing a dummy joint or inserting a mild

steel T-iron to the depth varying from 1/3 to 1/6 of the depth of the slab.

These joints may be plain butt type or butt with tie bars in them. Tie bars

should be bonded in the slabs across longitudinal joints and whilst casting

the first slabs thay may be bent so that one end of them lies along the

forms. After removal of the forms, bars should be straightened so that they

may extend into the concrete placed on the other side of the joint.

78
 Tongued and grooved joints are also sometimes used as the longotidinal

joints.

7.6 JOINT FILLERS AND SEALERS

Joints are place where continuity of the concrete slabs is broken. These

joints if not filled with proper material and allowed to remain open, grit may be

filled in them and subsequently during hot day, the slab may be pushed apart due

to expansion in the slab. Expansion not being allow at the joint due to muck filled

in it. During rains, water will infiltrate through joints into the soil sub grade thus

damaging it. This also results in mud pumping, specially where sub-grade is

made of expensive soils.

Due to above mentioned difficulties; the joints must be filled with such a

material which is compressible, elastic and durable. A material, which is used for

filling the joints, is known as fillers. Some depth at the top of the joints is filled

with a material which could seal the joints completely against the entrance of

water. The material which is used for sealing the joint is known as sealer.

Essential properties for fillers are elasticity, compressibility and durability,

where as for sealers adhesion with cement concrete, ductility, resistance to

ingress of dust and durability are the desirable properties.

Material most commonly used as fillers are:

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 a. cork or cork bound with bitumen

b. soft wood

c. impregnated fibre boards

The recommendations has been made that filler is considered satisfactory

which can be compressed to 50 % of its original thickness by applying a pressure

varying between 7 to 53 kg/cm2 and material should recover at least 70 % of

original thickness after three cycles of applying and removing the load. Also when

compressed to 50 % thickness, the free edge of the filler should not extrude by

more than 6.5 mm, when all other three edges are restrained.

Bitumen either alone or with mineral filler is mostly used as a sealing

compound. Rubber bitumen compound, air blown bitumens etc. can also be

used.

1. Figure shows the positions of

the filler and sealer at normal
temperature.

2. During hot day, pavement

expands due to rise in
temperature and the open gap
gets reduced. In this condition,
filler gets compressed and
7.7 sealer
FUNCTIONING OFcompound
FILLERS may
ANDspill out
SEALERS
of joint.

Sealer
3. During cold night, the edges of
the pavements move back due
80 gap will
to contraction and open
formed.
 Joint Filler Sealer
Oughing Out

Sealer
Broken

Similarly, due to increase gap, sealing film will become thin. If sealer

material is extensible, it will maintain continuity and if its elongation capacity is

poor, it may crack as shown above. So, if defective materials have been used as

fillers and sealers, the difficulty shown above may arise and render the joint

permeable, through which water or other foreign matter may enter the gap and

may affect sub-grade or displace the slabs.

ACTIVITY 7
TEST YOUR UNDERSTANDING BEFORE YOU CONTINUE WITH THE NEXT

INPUT

Question
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1. State three types of cement concrete roads.

a. _____________________________

b. _____________________________

c. _____________________________

2. State the stages of cement concrete pavement construction.

FEEDBACK ON
ACTIVITY 7

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Answer

1.

i. Cement concrete slab pavements

ii. Cement grouted macadam pavements

iii. Roller concrete layer pavements.

2. Construction of cement concrete pavement involves following

stages:

a. Preparation of sub grade.

b. Preparation of sub base.

c. Fixing of farm.

d. Batching of materials and mixing.

e. Carrying and placing concrete.

f. Compaction and finishing.

g. Floating and edging.

h. Belting and edging.

i. Curing.

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84
Question

1. Joints in cement concrete pavements can be classified into three

categories. Describes them.

2. Describe the preparation of sub-on a good soil formation

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Answer

1. Expansion joints provide space into which pavement can expand.

These joints release compressive stresses developed in the

concrete slab. Expansion joints also relieve stresses caused by

construction and warping.

Contraction joints relieve tension developed in the concrete due to

contraction. They prevent formation of irregular cracks contraction

joints also relieve stresses due to warping.

Warping joints relieve stresses due to warping effect develops in

the slab. These joints are commonly used for longitudinal joints

dividing the pavement into lanes. Warping tendencies are set up in

the concrete slab due to temperature difference between top and

bottom of the slab. At 12 noon the temperature at the top surface of

the slab will be higher than that at the bottom. This causes top

fibres of the slab to expand by larger amount than the bottom fibres

and slab warps down wards at the edges. Similarly at 12 night, the

86
 temperature of the bottom of the slab is higher than the

temperature at the top of the slab and slab warps upwards at the

edges. Weight of the slab tries to prevent this warping of the slab

and thus warping stresses are set up. Intensity of warping stress is

maximum at the interior and minimum at the edges.

2. Preparation Of Sub Grade

Where formation soil is of very good quality, cement slab may

directly be laid over the prepared sub grade. The top 15 cm layer of

the sub grade should be compacted and checked for trueness by

mean of scratch template. Unevenness of the surface should not

exceed 12 mm in 3 m length. Sub grade should be prepared and

checked at least two days in advance of concreting. It is desirable

to lay a layer of water proofing paper then even concrete can be

laid directly over the soil sub grade. Prepared sub grade should

complete the following requirements:

i. There should not be any soft patches on the prepared

sub grade.

ii. Sub grade should present the uniform support to the

concrete slab.

vi. Should be properly drained.

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vii. Minimum modulus of sub grade reaction obtained with

plate bearing test should be 5.5 kg / cm 2.

viii. If waterproof paper is to be laid directly over the sub

grade, moistening of sub grade prior to placing of the

concrete over it, is not required. Moistening is

essential in case waterproof papers are not used.

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 ADVANTAGES OF RIGID PAVEMENT

Figure 10: Advantage of Rigid Pavement

Good Abrasion Resistance

Withstand Extremes of Weather
Exclusion of Water
Skid Resistant
Used in Areas where soils have Poor Engineering Properties
Design Precision
Good Foundation for Strengthening
Fuel Saving

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 DISADVANTAGES OF RIGID PAVEMENT

Figure 11: Disadvantage of Rigid Pavement

Problems of Underground Utilities

Do not Permit Stage Construction
Energy Content of Concrete Pavements is high

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 CONCLUSION

Rigid pavements are generally used in constructing airports and major highways, such as
those in the interstate highway system. In addition, they commonly serve as heavy-duty
industrial floor slabs, port and harbor yard pavements, and heavy-vehicle park or terminal
pavements. Like flexible pavements, rigid highway pavements are designed as all-
weather, long-lasting structures to serve modern day high-speed traffic. Offering high
quality riding surfaces for safe vehicular travel, they function as structural layers to
distribute vehicular wheel loads in such a manner that the induced stresses transmitted to
the subgrade soil are of acceptable magnitudes.

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 REFERENCES

Websites:

www.wikipedia.com
www.scribd.com
www.seminarprojects.com

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