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Federal Highway Administration Research and Technology
Coordinating, Developing, and Delivering Highway Transportation Innovations

 
TECHBRIEF
This techbrief is an archived publication and may contain dated technical, contact, and link information
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Publication Number:  FHWA-HRT-16-017    Date:  October 2015
Publication Number: FHWA-HRT-16-017
Date: October 2015

 

The Exploratory Advanced Research Program

Novel Alternative Cementitious Materials for Development of the Next Generation of Sustainable Transportation Infrastructure

 

Table 4. State DOT ACM usage survey results.

MATERIAL STATE USAGE APPLICATIONS ANECDOTAL MATERIAL OBSERVATIONS
CSA California
Kentucky
Maine
Missouri
New Mexico
New York
North Carolina
Texas
Virginia
Washington
Patching
Rapid set overlays
Closure pour application   with precast deck panels
Bridge joint repairs
Partial depth concrete
  pavement repairs
Short-term replacement
  for bridge departures/
  entrances
Bridge sleeper slab
  replacements
Precast deck slab closures
LMC overlays
Peer cap to deck slab
  connections
Panel replacements and
  DBR pour back material
"Performed well."
"Performed well in construction and service."
"Performed well so far with no issues."
"Good field performance, one large transverse
  crack but no debonding."
"Worked very well for more than 5 years, even
  with a profoundly under-designed and very thin
  pavement."
"Excellent performance-fewer cracks and
  lower permeability than concrete overlays."
"Good when mixed, placed, and cured properly."
"Field tests show good performance, after one
  year, from CSA pavements."
CSA-latex mixtures Missouri Rapid set bridge deck
  overlays
Partial depth repairs
"Some scaling issues, discoloration, and
  reduction in compressive strength."
CAC Illinois
Maryland
New York
Texas
Roadway patching

Precast deck slabs
  closures

Bridge armor joint repairs

Full-depth pavement
  repairs

"Material has held up well, but experienced and
  well-organized contractors with topnotch
  placement equipment are absolutely necessary in   order to obtain good results."

"Performed well for many years after placement."

"One product showed scaling the first year and
  performed well for the next 17 years, others
  have had very poor durability with lots of scaling
  and freeze-thaw loss."

"Have had good experiences with CAC."
MPC Alaska
Maryland
Virginia
Bridge deck patching and
  overlays
Precast panel joints
"14 years after placement, some joints have
  slightly delaminated and cracking has occurred
  where the material was subjected to torsion, but
  overall the material seems to have worked
  reasonably well."

"CSAs preferred because of cost."
AA Georgia
Kentucky
Texas
Virginia
Full- and partial-depth
  concrete slab pavements
  and bridge decks, and
  repairs to pavements and
  bridge decks

Patching

"Getting a level finish in the short set window was
  challenging, but otherwise the material
  performed well."

"Performed well in construction and service."

"Had low strength issues, but activator may have
  been out of date."

"Field tests show good performance, after 1 year,
  from AA fly-ash pavements."

Polyester Cement California Bridge overlays "Doing well so far after 1 year of placement."

 

Site 1: I-16 in Dublin, GA

The research team examined full-depth chemically-activated binder concrete slabs, originally placed on U.S. Interstate 16 in Dublin, GA. Images from the site are shown below in figures 2 and 3. These slabs were originally placed in early 2008 and remained in service until 2013, when a full highway section replacement was completed. Since then, the slabs have been stored at a Georgia DOT storage yard.

The research team observed that the slabs appeared to be in excellent condition, with only very minimal cracking. This cracking was likely caused by removing the slab from the roadway and transporting it via a front-end loader from the original site to a Georgia DOT storage area. The slab surface showed exposed aggregates; however, this was assumed to be a result of the paving process, and perhaps grinding of the surface to smooth it and improve rideability, rather than a durability issue, as no evidence indicated salt scaling or delamination.

 

Close-up photo of a chemically-activated binder concrete slab removed from Interstate 16 in Dublin, Gerogia. There are only a few cracks visible in the slab, most likely as a result of the process of removing the slab the roadway.
© The Georgia Institute of Technology

Figure 2. The wearing surface of the I-16 slab section in Dublin, GA, and one of the few cracks present.
(It is not known if the crack was present before slab removal.)

 

Photo of a chemically-activated binder concrete slab removed from Interstate 16 in Dublin, GA.
© The Georgia Institute of Technology

Figure 3. Cast surface of the slab section in Dublin, GA.

 

 

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