CONCRETE APPLICATIONS I

CIMT 210

Whitetopping:
1. Whitetopping
A. History
B. Thickness
C. Advantages
D. Design

2. Ultra-Thin Whitetopping
A. History
B. Bond and thickness
C. Joint Spacing
D. Construction

Overlays_of_Asphalt_Pavement

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 1. Whitetopping
A. History
Paved surfaces for roadways, both portland
cement concrete and asphalt, must withstand
very harsh conditions:

Wheel loads from moving vehicles

The pavement must endure environmental effects.
Climatic changes
Moisture variations
Freezing and thawing temperature

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 1. Whitetopping
A. History
Whitetopping is a portland cement concrete
overlay on existing asphalt concrete pavement. It
can be used as a road surface course where
traditional paving materials have failed due to
rutting or general deterioration.

There are three types of whitetopping:

Conventional (thickness greater than 8 inches)

Thin (thicknesses over 4 but less than 8 inches.)
Ultra-thin (2 to 4 inches) Ultra-thin
whitetopping (UTW) is a bonded, fiber reinforced
concrete overlay.

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 1. Whitetopping
A. History
Whitetopping used in the United States
since 1918 and routinely used since mid-1970's.

Method of rehabilitating asphalt pavements

Was developed in the early 1990's.

Thicker bonded concrete overlays of existing

asphalt pavements have been built on
three major highways in the U.S.

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 1. Whitetopping
B. Thickness
Unbonded, Classical Whitetopping
Until 1991, most whitetopping projects in the
U.S. did not purposely seek bond between the
interface of the concrete overlay and the underlying
asphalt surface. Rather, the existing asphalt serves
as base for the new concrete overlay.

Defined as: "A concrete overlay, usually of

thickness of 100 mm(4 inches) or more
Unbonded PCC overlays, often called
"classical whitetopping"

Bonded PCC overlays, often called

"thin composite whitetopping"

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 1. Whitetopping
C. Advantages
Applicable where the depths of potholes
are less than 50 mm (2 inches).

If rut or pothole depths are deeper, the potholes

are filled or the surface is milled.

All three types of rigid pavement (JPCP, JRCP

and CRCP) have been successfully used as
Classical whitetopping (McGhee, 1994).

The chief advantage of classical whitetopping

is that it requires minimal surface preparation

Minimum overlay thicknesses tend to be in the

125 - 175 mm (5 - 7 inch) range, which is quite
thick and possibly unsuitable in situations
where a specific elevation must be maintained
such as in curbed areas or under bridges.

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 1. Whitetopping
D. Design
The design procedure contained in the
1993 AASHTO Guide is virtually identical
to the AASHTO empirical design for
new rigid pavements with one exception:

The effective modulus of subgrade reaction (k)

is determined based on the existing flexible
pavement resilent modulus.

Although perfectly acceptable, this method

gives little credit to the existing pavement's
remaining strength.

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 1. Whitetopping
D. Design
The design procedure contained in the
1993 AASHTO Guide is virtually identical
to the AASHTO empirical design for
new rigid pavements with one exception:

The effective modulus of subgrade reaction (k)

is determined based on the existing flexible
pavement resilent modulus.

Although perfectly acceptable, this method

gives little credit to the existing pavement's
remaining strength.

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 2. Ultra-Thin Whitetopping
A. History
Ultra-Thin Whitetopping "UTW"Emerges

Term was needed to differentiate this new

technology from classical whitetopping. Three
features differentiated the whitetopping of asphalt:
(1.) The concrete overlay was substantially thinner
(2.) Bond between the concrete overlay and the
underlying asphalt created composite action.
(3.) Short joint spacing significantly improved
overlay performance.

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 2. Ultra-Thin Whitetopping
A. History
Ultra-thin whitetopping." requires bonding
a relatively thin layer of concrete to the
underlying asphalt

Over 200 ultra-thin whitetopping sections

have been built, primarily on low-volume
roadways.

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 2. Ultra-Thin Whitetopping
B. Bond and Thickness
The concrete overlay and the underlying asphalt
act as a composite section rather than two
independent layers.

Significantly reduces the load-induced stresses

The concrete overlay can be significantly thinner
for the same loading as compared to a no bond
to the underlying asphalt.

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 2. Ultra-Thin Whitetopping
B. Thickness
UTW defined as:
"A concrete overlay 50 mm to 100 mm thick
with closely spaced joints bonded to an existing
asphalt pavement."

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 2. Ultra-Thin Whitetopping
C. Joint Spacing
Joints are typically design much closer than
for typical new-construction rigid pavement.
The closer joint spacing, on the order of
1 - 4 m (3.3 - 13.1 ft.), does the following :

Reduces the moment arm of the applied

wheel load and minimizes the stresses due
to bending.

Reduces the curling and warping stresses by

reducing the size of the slab that can curl or
warp.

Because of the short joint spacing, the overlaid

PCC slabs transfer load to the underlying flexible
pavement by deflecting downward as a unit
rather than bending

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 2. Ultra-Thin Whitetopping
C. Joint Spacing

Figure : Shorter joint spacing reduces

slab-bending. Wheel loads cause bending in
concrete pavements with conventional
joint spacing. In UTW, shorter joint
spacing ca sues more transfer of wheel loads
to the underlying asphalt through deflection.

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 2. Ultra-Thin Whitetopping
D. Construction

Constructing UTW Overlays Proper construction

of ultra-thin whitetopping consists of four
fundamental steps:

1. Prepare the asphalt surface by milling and

cleaning, or water or abrasive blasting.

2. Place, finish, texture, and cure using

conventional techniques and materials.

3. Saw joints to prevent cracking.

4. Open to traffic. A clean surface is required

for proper bond.

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 2. Ultra-Thin Whitetopping
D. Construction

Milling the surface followed by cleaning

improves bond because it exposes more of the
aggregate of the asphalt pavement.

The milling creates a rough surface the also

enhances the bond between the two layers.

If milling is not done, water or abrasive blasting

should be used to clean the asphalt surface.

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 2. Ultra-Thin Whitetopping
D. Construction

When water blasting is used, the surface must

be allowed to air dry before the concrete is placed.

Once a surface is cleaned it is important to keep

it clean until the concrete overlay is placed.

Dust, dirt and debris that falls or blows onto

the asphalt surface must be removed.

If the surface is cleaned on the day prior to paving,

air cleaning may be required on the day of paving
to remove dirt and dust.

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 2. Ultra-Thin Whitetopping
D. Construction

If traffic is allowed on the milled surface, the

surface must be recleaned prior to paving.

Paving UTW is no different from paving any

other concrete pavement.

Conventional slip-form and fixed-form pavers,

as well as small equipment
- such as vibrating screeds

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 2. Ultra-Thin Whitetopping
D. Construction

Typical concrete finishing and texturing

procedures are appropriate for ultra-thin
whitetopping.

Proper curing is critical to avoiding shrinkage

cracking in the concrete overlay and to prevent
debonding between the asphalt and concrete.

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 2. Ultra-Thin Whitetopping
D. Construction
Because the overlay is a thin concrete slab,
it has high surface area to volume ratio and
can lose water rapidly due to evaporation.

Curing compound should be applied at twice

the normal rate.

Care must be used during application in order

to avoid spraying curing compound on a prepared
asphalt surface, which will decrease bonding.

Joints should be sawed with lightweight saws

as early as possible to control cracking.

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 2. Ultra-Thin Whitetopping
D. Construction

Saw-cut depth should be 1/4 - 1/3 of overlay

thickness.

Typically, the joints are not sealed. They have

performed well without sealant because the
short joint spacing minimizes joint movement.

Performance to date shows no benefit from

sealant use.

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