Research in Progress: Ensuring Long-Term Performance of Concrete Pavements, TPF-5(517), 2025

(2025) Research in Progress: Ensuring Long-Term Performance of Concrete Pavements, TPF-5(517), 2025. Transportation, Department of

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Abstract

Concrete for pavements has historically been specified and field controlled around acceptance criteria that do not relate well to durability (slump, air content, strength). Paving concrete specifications need to be built upon engineering properties that directly relate to good field performance. With the recent advancements in research knowledge on failure mechanisms, and the paralleled development of better tests, this is possible. A review of many current and new specifications has found that they are still largely based on strength, slump, and air, which provide limited correlation with the mechanisms of pavement failure currently observed. The need for change in the way we specify concrete, especially concrete for paving mixtures, is becoming increasingly apparent as mixtures become more complex with a growing range of chemical admixtures and supplementary cementitious materials. Traffic loadings continue to increase, more aggressive winter maintenance practices are implemented, and demand increases to build systems more quickly, cheaply, and with increased longevity. The Federal Highway Administration, through their Cooperative Agreement with the National Concrete Pavement Technology Center, has been working with the 30 member-state departments of transportation of the National Concrete Consortium to identify the specification approach and key testing technologies that are needed for paving concrete to have increased durability, including in the presence of wet freeze thaw and winter deicing materials. The testing technologies have been developed, and the next critical activities are deployment of the new testing technologies, development of practical specifications and QA/QC recommendations, and correlating specification limits with durable field performance. It is proposed that a TPF supported financially and technically by FHWA, DOTs, and industry be advanced as the best approach to accelerating the implementation and benefits associated with durability based specifications. To date two significant milestones have been accomplished: 1. During the late summer of 2015 and the 2016 paving season, agencies (Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Nebraska, Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin, South Dakota, Manitoba, and the Illinois Tollway) have started using and evaluating new testing technologies that support the design and testing of performance engineered concrete paving mixtures (PEMs). 2. A proposed AASHTO provisional specification and commentary has been submitted for balloting by the member states. The specification seeks to provide agencies with the tools to prepare a specification for concrete mixtures for pavements that moves closer to measuring and basing acceptance on the parameters that are truly critical to the long-term performance of the system. The commentary is provided to support each relevant section of the specification to provide background information and the rationale behind the recommended approach. Discussion is provided in this commentary regarding how desired performance requirements are typically sought in a prescriptive specification for comparison between the recommendations in this document and current practice. It is recommended that mixing performance and prescriptive approaches be avoided, to the degree possible, because of the risk of making it impossible to meet all of the demands on the system. The intent of this TPF is to build upon these two critical steps and provide technical assistance and training to participants, validate the AASHTO provisional specification based upon actual field performance, and continue the developmental work of measuring and relating early age concrete properties to pavement performance.

Available Versions of this Item

• Research Solutions: Ensuring Long-Term Performance of Concrete Pavements, TPF-5(517), 2025. (deposited 25 Mar 2025 13:01)
  • Research in Progress: Ensuring Long-Term Performance of Concrete Pavements, TPF-5(517), 2025. (deposited 26 Mar 2025 14:05) [Currently Displayed]