01625623

Component

Transportation agencies face increased pressures from roadway users to minimize road closures due to rehabilitation and reconstruction efforts. That requires the opening of newly constructed or rehabilitated concrete pavements at earlier ages. This paper presents an investigation of the effect of early age loading on concrete pavements via the experimental loading of concrete flexure beams in the laboratory, supplemented by nondestructive testing efforts. Since the 28-day concrete strength is an important input parameter in the Mechanistic-Empirical Pavement Design Guide (MEPDG) for the prediction of long-term pavement performance, a laboratory study was performed to evaluate the effect of early age loading on the 28-day strength. Several rounds of tests were performed, allowing for a variety of variables to be considered, including: loading duration, loading type, curing condition, and the age at which the beams were loaded. The results of this testing and its implication on early opening decisions are presented.

This paper was sponsored by TRB committee AFH50 Standing Committee on Concrete Pavement Construction and Rehabilitation.

01618707

17-04955

English

15p

2017

Transportation Research Board 96th Annual Meeting

Digital/other

Figures; References; Tables

Concrete pavements; Flexural strength; Laboratory tests; Load tests; Ultimate strength

Mechanistic-Empirical Pavement Design Guide

Concrete beams; Early age (Concrete); Opening to traffic; Shear wave velocity

Highways; Materials; Pavements

Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting 2017 Paper #17-04955

TRIS, TRB, ATRI

Dec 8 2016 11:54AM