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Long Lasting Rigid Pavements
Technical University Gh. AsachiIasi

The Long Life Rigid Pavements
The Long Life Rigid Pavements
-
-
LLRP
LLRP
The concept of
The concept of
can
can
be defined only in conjunction with the world wide
be defined only in conjunction with the world wide
evolution of modern paving expressed in significant
evolution of modern paving expressed in significant
changes in
changes in
thickness design, materials specification,
thickness design, materials specification,
construction and maintenance technologies
construction and maintenance technologies
Significant approaches to get concrete road projects with ext Significant approaches to get concrete road projects with extended life ended life
Increase the specified aggregate size Increase the specified aggregate size from 19 mm to 32 mm /or 15 to from 19 mm to 32 mm /or 15 to
25mm, to improve flexural strength without significant increases 25mm, to improve flexural strength without significant increasesin in
cement content. cement content.
Devise these layers within the one Devise these layers within the one- -slipformed layer slipformed layer rather than a rather than a
multilayer approach that might lead to delamination. multilayer approach that might lead to delamination.
Continue to provide incentives to contractors Continue to provide incentives to contractors to encourage to encourage
pavements to be constructed to lower tolerances or to better med pavements to be constructed to lower tolerances or to better medium ium- -
term performance measures. term performance measures.
Professor RADU ANDREI
The quality of the concrete is a major factor in seeking long The quality of the concrete is a major factor in seeking long- -
term performance term performance. .
Evolution of coefficient of variation data on paving projects from 1975 to
2005 in Australia
Increase of minimum recommended thickness and Increase of minimum recommended thickness and
improvements in pavement structural design : improvements in pavement structural design :
Developing Developing more refined thickness design procedure / more refined thickness design procedure /Change from Change from
nomographs to nomographs to computer programs and spreadsheet analysis computer programs and spreadsheet analysis in order in order
to reduce human error. to reduce human error.
Increase the skew to transverse contraction joints Increase the skew to transverse contraction joints from 1:6 to 1:10. from 1:6 to 1:10.
Better collection of heavy traffic data Better collection of heavy traffic data provided better input into fatigue provided better input into fatigue
analysis. analysis.
Minimum base layer thickness Minimum base layer thickness for different pavement types have been for different pavement types have been
introduced in the last years. introduced in the last years.
Improvements in construction requirements
Improvements in construction requirements
Tolerance for thickness and strength was modified Tolerance for thickness and strength was modified to to
ensure that more of the pavement was built above the ensure that more of the pavement was built above the
minimum limit rather than an average around the design minimum limit rather than an average around the design
requirement. requirement.
Better preparation of materials Better preparation of materials, reduce the risk of , reduce the risk of
construction. construction.
Significant Significant improvements to the slipform pavers improvements to the slipform pavers and better and better
training of staff at all levels conducted prior to construction. training of staff at all levels conducted prior to construction.
Recent Advances in Concrete Technology favourable to the Recent Advances in Concrete Technology favourable to the
development of Long Life Rigid Pavements development of Long Life Rigid Pavements
Fibre Reinforced Concrete Pavements Fibre Reinforced Concrete Pavements
* Fibre * Fibre- -reinforced concrete (FRC) is made of hydraulic cements reinforced concrete (FRC) is made of hydraulic cements
containing fine or fine and coarse aggregates, and discontinuous containing fine or fine and coarse aggregates, and discontinuous, discrete , discrete
steel or plastic fibres, added to fresh concrete during the bat steel or plastic fibres, added to fresh concrete during the batching and ching and
mixing process. mixing process.
* Advantages to reinforcing concrete with uniformly dispersed an * Advantages to reinforcing concrete with uniformly dispersed and d
randomly oriented fibres, including improvement in ductility, im randomly oriented fibres, including improvement in ductility, impact pact
resistance, tensile and flexural strength, fatigue life, durabil resistance, tensile and flexural strength, fatigue life, durability and ity and
abrasion resistance. abrasion resistance.
Polymer fibre reinforced concrete pavements Polymer fibre reinforced concrete pavements
Synthetic Fibres for concrete pavements
Polypropylene fibres used in concrete at a rate of at least 0.1% by volume.
Concrete containing 1 or 2% by volume of propylene fibres showed
deterioration in compression stress-strain response when compared with
the control mixture (SHRP Research)
Steel fibre reinforced concrete (SFRC) Steel fibre reinforced concrete (SFRC)
SFRC with steel fibres industrial produced SFRC with steel fibres industrial produced
The most significant effects of incorporating steel fibres in co The most significant effects of incorporating steel fibres in concrete: ncrete:
- -delay and control the tensile cracking of concrete delay and control the tensile cracking of concrete
- -increase resistance to impact and repeated loading increase resistance to impact and repeated loading
Steel fibres: with hooks (left) and crimp-shaped (right)
Recent Advances in Concrete Technology favourable to the devel Recent Advances in Concrete Technology favourable to the development opment
of Long Life Rigid Pavements of Long Life Rigid Pavements
Roller Compacted Concrete (RCC) Roller Compacted Concrete (RCC)
Roller compared concrete (RCC), is a
Roller compared concrete (RCC), is a
composite material made from the combination of
composite material made from the combination of
three main constituents: aggregates, water and
three main constituents: aggregates, water and
binder, that are the same as for conventional
binder, that are the same as for conventional
concrete, but are mixed with different
concrete, but are mixed with different
proportioning resulting to a material with
proportioning resulting to a material with
distinctive properties and behaviour
distinctive properties and behaviour. .
Without wearing course
With wearing course
Roller compacted Cast
Conventional concrete
Cement treated base
RCC
Water content
Flowable fill
C
e
m
e
n
t

c
o
n
t
e
n
t
Distinction between the different types of concrete based on the cement content and water
ratio
Options for the LLRP
Options for the LLRP
structural concepts
structural concepts
envisaged for the EcoLanes
envisaged for the EcoLanes
Project by using SFRC and SFRCC
Project by using SFRC and SFRCC
Option A1: the rigid pavement structure is composed by a slab
constructed from steel fibres reinforced concrete (SFRC) surface
course, having a reinforcement percentage resulted from previous
laboratory study conducted for SFRC mix design, laid on cement
stabilized or low-strength concrete base course.
Cement stabilized base course
SFRC surface
Subgrade/improved subgrade
Subbase (Foundation layer)
Option A2: the rigid pavement structure is composed by a slab
constructed from steel fibres reinforced concrete (SFRC) surface
course, having a reinforcement percentage resulted from previous
laboratory study conducted for SFRC mix design, laid on a relative
thin asphalt layer constructed over a base course granular
supported by a classic foundation.

Subbase (Foundation layer)
Granular base course
SFRC surface
Intermediate asphalt layer
Option B - two-lift construction.
Option B1: a concrete slab realised by two lift construction from a
SFRC surface course with a percentage by weight of reinforcing
fibre resulted from laboratory studies, and having a minimum
thickness of 6cm, and a Portland cement concrete (PCC) base
course. This concrete slab is laid on a cement stabilised subbase
supported by a classical foundation and subgrade or improved
subgrade.

Foundation layer
Cement stabilized subbase
SFRC surface
PCC base
Option B2: a two-lift constructed concrete slab, both layers from
SFRC, with different reinforcement percentages by weight (for
example, minimum 2.0% for the upper layer, and minimum 1%
for the bottom layer). This slab will be laid on a cement stabilized
or a low strength concrete subbase course, supported by a classical
foundation and subgrade or improved subgrade.

Foundation layer
Cement stabilized subbase
SFRC surface, min 2%
SFRC surface, min 1%
Option B3: a concrete slab realised from a SFRC surface layer, of
a minimum 6 cm thickness and a RCC layer, laid on a granular
base course, supported by a classical foundation and a subgrade or
improved subgrade.

Foundation layer
SFRC surface
RCC layer
Option B4: a concrete slab realised from a SFRC surface layer, of
a minimum 6 cm thickness and a FRRCC (Fibre Reinforced Rolled
Compacted Concrete) layer, laid on a granular base course,
supported by a classical foundation and a subgrade or improved
subgrade.

Foundation layer
SFRC surface
FRRCC layer
Option C: composite pavement structures
Option C1: a bituminous surface course is laid on a RCC (Rolled
Compacted Concrete) base, supported by a granular base course, a
classical foundation, and a subgrade or improved subgrade.

Foundation layer
Asphalt surface
RCC layer
Option C2: the bituminous surface course is laid on a SFRRCC
(Steel Fibre Reinforced Rolled Compacted Concrete) base,
supported by a granular base course, a classical foundation, and a
subgrade or improved subgrade.

Foundation layer
Asphalt surface
FRRCC layer
Accelerating Loading Testing - ALT for validation of Long
Lasting Rigid Pavements
Accelerated Loading Facility (ALF) - Australian experiment.
Objectives:
to validate and refine the existing fatigue design criteria for plain
concrete pavements;
to investigate the impact of various subbase types on the
performance of plain concrete pavements.
Accelerating Loading Test - ALT : Lessons learned from the
Australian experiment :
Results:
the dual-tire assembly with 8t loading did not precipitate fatigue
cracking and limited the findings from the ALF repetitive loading.
in terms of sub-base support, the study did confirm that a lean-mix
concrete or heavily bound sub-base would perform better than an
unbound granular material as a sub-base.
(These results have been taken into consideration by the UT Iasi team in
planning the EcoLanes ALT experiment on the circular accelerated track, the
rigid pavement structures of all experimental sectors ( 1 to 6) being provided
with stabilized sub-base )
Deliverable 3.2
Technical specifications of the ALT circular track
facility of Technical University GH. ASACHI IASI
Technical specifications of the ALT circular track
facility of Technical University GH. ASACHI IASI
Options on LLRP experimental sectors
constructed and under testing on the ALT
circular track facility of Technical
University GH. ASACHI IASI
26
The actual Ecolanes pavement structures constructed on the ALT
circular facility at Technical University Gh. Asachi Iasi
5,5m
5,5m
5,5m
d = 12 m
D = 18 m
7
1
2
3
4
Legend:
1 - Plain Concrete without fibers
2, 3, 4 - PC+SRSF
5, 6 - RCC+SRSF
7 - RCC without fibers
5
6
10,5m
8m
6m
6m
20
15
15
BCR 4,5
Pavement structure sector 1
25
15
10
RCC
25
15
10
RCC +
3% SRSF
25
15
10
RCC +
6% SRSF
20
15
15
Stabilized
ballast
PC 4,5 +
3% SRSF
Ballast
Subgrade
Pavement structure sectors 2, 3 & 4
Stabilized
ballast
Stabilized
ballast
Stabilized
ballast
Stabilized
ballast
Ballast
Ballast
Ballast
Ballast
Subgrade
Subgrade
Subgrade Subgrade
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Accelerated Load Testing of Long Lasting Rigid Pavements
Two types of steel fiber reinforce concrete has been
envisaged to be used for the ALT experiment in the frame the
Ecolanes project :
PC & SFRC , compacted by vibration;
- SFRCC, compacted by rolling
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PC & SFRC , compacted by vibration
sector 1: unreinforced concrete, d
max
=25 mm, l=6 m;
sectors 2, 3 & 4: SFRC, with 3% fibre SRSF (ADRIA),
d
max
=16 mm, with different length : 6 m, 8m and 10,5 m
29
The initial planning of the ALT laying out of the experimental
sectors, presented during the Brussels meeting has been
altered, in order to have the possibility to study also the
infuence of the percentage of fibres. Thus , instead of two
sectors with different lengths ( 6 m & 10,5 m), have been
constructed three sectors ( 5, 6 & 7) having the same length of
5,5 m , but realized with concrete prepared with different
percentge of fibers ( 6%, 3% & 0%)
30
As traffic loads will apply directly on the surface of the RCC,
in order to keep for the riding surface the same level on the
whole ALT circular track, the initial thickness of RCC slabs of
20 cm has been increased to 25 cm.
In case when severe distress may occur at the surface of
the slabs during the ALT experiment, will be possible to
proceed with the cutting of concrete on a 5cm depth and to
replace it with a bituminous layer.
The RCC slabs are placed on a cement stabilized ballast sub-
base (h=15 cm) , supported by a ballast foundation (h=10 cm),
the total thickness of pavement structures on the ALT track
being the same (50 cm).
31
As traffic loads will apply directly on the surface of the RCC,
in order to keep for the riding surface the same level on the
whole ALT circular track, the initial thickness of RCC slabs of
20 cm has been increased to 25 cm.
In case when severe distress may occur at the surface of
the slabs during the ALT experiment, will be possible to
proceed with the cutting of concrete on a 5cm depth and to
replace it with a bituminous layer.
The RCC slabs are placed on a cement stabilized ballast sub-
base (h=15 cm) , supported by a ballast foundation (h=10 cm),
the total thickness of pavement structures on the ALT track
being the same (50 cm).
32
The construction of the various layers of pavement
structures on the experimental sectors of the ALT
facility
Earthworks reconstruction/ subgrade
Construction of the ballast fundation layer
Construction of the sub-base from cement stabilized
ballast
Construction of the concrete slabs
- Construction of wet concrete slabs, compacted by
vibration (PC)
-Construction of rolled compacted concrete slabs (
RCC)
Transducers and their placement on the
ALT circular track
34
Instrumentation of the ALT experiment
35
Installing transducers in the foundation soil
36
Installing transducers in the concrete slabs
Thickness design methods considered for the
the study of various EcoLanes LLRP options
For each of the envisaged A and B options, mentioned
before at least four alternative methods of thickness design,
including the Romanian method, are intended to be used.
Finally the best fitted one will be selected, taking into
consideration various extensions of design life, based on
technical and economical criteria, in order to be proposed for the
various EcoLanedemo projects.
Thickness design methods envisaged for the
EcoLanes LLRP options
For options C, by adopting the assumptions that, between the
asphalt surface and the concrete base there is no bonding, or
only partial bonding, the design studies will be conducted
separately for each layer, according the specific existing
norms.
Mechanistic Empirical Structural Design
Methods considered for the EcoLanes Project
* NCHRP/ Mechanistic Empirical Pavement Design Guide:M-E PDG-
Software (US-2006)
* The Highway Agency Design Method (TRRL Report 87, UK-2006)
* Portland Cement Association PCA method: KENSLAB Software (US
2006)
* Rigid Pavements Design ( Romanian Standards: NP 081 2002)
Preliminary results obtained with
various thickness design methods,
considered for ALT validation of the
LLRP concept
Further Developments on Deliverable 3.1
Thickness design according to
the Romanian Standard NP 081-2002
on the ALT circular track
Design according to the Romanian Standard NP 081-2002:
Design stages
Design Criterion
The thickness design of the rigid pavements is based on the
allowable strength criterion, considering the tensile
strength from bending in the cement concrete,
tadm
.
Preliminary studies:
1. The composition, intensity and evolution of traffic;
2. The geotechnical characteristics of the foundation soil;
3. The hydrologic regime on the site.
Design according to the Romanian Standard NP 081-2002:
Computation model: finite element, multi-layer structure,
including the PCC slab and an equivalent layer of the under-
lying layers: sub-base and foundation.
The main stages of the rigid pavement design:
1. Establishing the design traffic msa( standard 115kN axles);
2. Establishing the bearing capacity of the foundation soil;
3. Conceiving the rigid pavement structure;
4. Establishing the bearing capacity at the level of the sub-base
course;
5. Determining the thickness of the concrete slab.
Thickness design Sectors 2-4
Thickness design Sector 5
Thickness design Sector 6
Thickness design according to
TRRL Research Report 87
Design curves (29 unreinforced and 42 reinforced forms of
construction) and equations, function of traffic (equivalent standard 80
kNaxles), concrete strength and foundation support, derived by multiple
regression analysis;
For our design, the traffic of 1.5 millions 115 kNstandard axles was
converted to 80kN standard axles, using AASHTO Guide equivalence
coefficients, resulting 19.35 millions standard 80 kN axles (msa).
According to Table 2, for 15 cm lean concrete upper layer (stabilized
sub-base) and 15 cm capping layer (ballast foundation), with subgradeof
CBR=5, the equivalent foundation modulus was established as
approximately 350 MPa(358MPa);
ln(L)=5.094 ln(H) + 3.466 ln(S) + 0.4836ln(M) + 0.08718ln(F) - 40.78
where:
L - estimate of the cumulative traffic, in msa;
H - thickness, in mm, of the plain concrete slab;
S - 28-day mean compression strength,inMPa, of cubes made from the
pavement concrete;
M - the equivalent modulus, in MPa, of an uniform foundation, giving
the same support as the actual foundation;
F - the percentage of failed bays (10%...50%).
Design equation
Results of thickness design study for PCC, SFRC and RCC slabs
Thickness design according to Mechanistic Empirical
Pavement Design Guide:M-E PDG
Thickness design according to Mechanistic Empirical
Pavement Design Guide:M-E PDG
Key features of the mechanistic-based design process
developed under NCHRP 1-37A, include inputs (site
factors, a trial design, and design criteria), input processing
over the design period, a finite element structural response
model, the incremental damage summation on an hourly
and monthly basis over time, and the prediction of J PCP
performance with several calibrated models.
Thickness design according to Mechanistic
Empirical Pavement Design Guide: M-E PDG
The output results over the entire design period are as follows:
J oint faulting:
J oint spalling:
Transverse cracking (top down and bottom up):.
International Roughness Index (IRI) of the J PCP: An empirical model that
includes faulting, spalling, cracking, and site factors as a function of time.
Predicted Faulting
0.00
0.02
0.04
0.06
0.08
0.10
0.12
0.14
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26 28 30 32
Pavement age, years
F
a
u
l
t
i
n
g
,

i
n
Faulting plain concrete
Faulting SFRC
Faulting Limit
Predicted Cracking
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26 28 30 32
Pavement age, years
P
e
r
c
e
n
t

s
l
a
b
s

c
r
a
c
k
e
d
,

%
Percent slabs cracked SFRC
Percent slabs cracked plain concrete
Limit percent slabs cracked
Predicted IRI
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
350
400
450
500
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26 28 30 32
Pavement age, years
I
R
I
,

i
n
/
m
i
l
e
IRI plain concrete
IRI Limit
IRI SFRC
Thickness Design Results
14.89cm - 20.5cm 22.02cm TRRL
13.29cm - 16.19cm 20.97cm NP 081-
2002
RCC SFRCC SFRC UPC
Sector 6 Sector 5 Sectors 2-
4
Sector 1
Conclusions and Recommendations
1. This comparative design study has been undertaken by using
Romanian and UK and M-E PDG methods of design and will be
extended with the PCA- KENSLAB method .
2. The first two methods of design used in the investigation produced
thickness of SFRC/SFRCC slab lower than that obtained for
unreinforced concrete slab, and significantly reduced in case of the
Romanian method. The reason for this may consist in the difference
in philosophy of design and criteria (flexural concrete strength/RO
vs. compressive strength/UK). These thicknesses have been
validated also by the M-E PDG procedure .
FAILURE CRITERIA FOR RIGID PAVEMENTS
*Theoretical criteria
* Empirical/practical criteria
Theoretical criteria :
The theoretical criteriumis represented by the fatigue
law adopted for the cement concrete
1.Portland Cement Association (USA)
2.Darter(USA)
3.Huang: Pavement Analysis and design/1993 (USA)
4.NP 081-2002(RO)
Empirical/practical criteria
1.TRRL Research Report 87 :
Mayhew H.C. , Harding H.M., Thickness design of
concrete roads
2. AND 547-98: Recommendation for assessment of
technical condition of modern roads ( in Romanian)
TRRL Research Report 87/ Empirical/practical
criteria :
a crack of width equal to or greater than 0.5 mm
crossing the bay longitudinally or transversally;
a longitudinal and transverse crack intersecting, both
starting from an edge and greater than 0.5 mmwide,
and each longer than 200 mm;
corner cracking wider than 1.3 mmand more than
200 mmradius;
a replaced or structurally repaired bay.
Empirical/practical criteria : AND 547-98: Recommendation for
assessment of technical condition of modern roads
a. Distress of slabs
breaking of the slab
active or passive cracks
Potholes of 5 50cm2/ depth more than 3 cm
b. Distress of structure
pumping
faulting /settlement of slabs more than 5 cm under the 3m straight
edge
alligator cracks in small ( 1030cm0 or big (50100cm) plates
Complete breaking of slabs

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Long Lasting Rigid Pavements

Technical University Gh. AsachiIasi

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