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Publication Details

Concrete Materials and Mix Design for Assuring Durable Pavements Research/Reference: useful for researchers doing further work in the pavement area as well as those developing improved testing and design procedures. Includes documents of historical value.

Primary Topic: Materials-Concrete

Description: Concrete can certainly be used to construct durable, long-lasting pavements; every day we ride over proof of this premise throughout this country and the world. There are also, however, examples of concrete pavements that have had unexpectedly poor performance. In these latter instances, usually one or more aspects of the materials and mix design, the environment, the pavement design and the construction process were not sufficiently considered for the requirements placed on the concrete. The objective of this paper is to review those factors that influence the long term performance of concrete pavements, particularly the demands placed on the concrete as a material, in order to show that with due consideration of these factors, good durability is achievable with certainty. The factors that are considered herein may be placed in the four categories noted: concrete materials and mix design; pavement structural design; the environment; and the construction process. Under materials and mix design, the characteristics of all the components, and their interaction, must be considered. The pavement structural design requires a certain concrete strength, as well as other characteristics. Environmental factors, both at the time of paving, and over the long-term, can greatly influence performance. Finally, construction related factors, such as control of uniformity of materials and mix, and on-time concrete delivery must all be considered to attain an initially distress-free pavement. Each of the categories is discussed, as it may influence the design and construction of durable, long lasting concrete pavements.

FHWA Publication Number:

Publication Year: 1997

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Updated: 04/11/2022
Federal Highway Administration | 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE | Washington, DC 20590 | 202-366-4000