Abrasion Resistance of Concrete Pavements

The property of abrasion resistance is the ability of a material to resist mechanical abrasion. This paper deals with different test methods, especially road wear simulators, requirements and influencing factors for wearresistant road surfacing concrete. The average annual daily traffic (ADT) adjusted for the proportion of traffic with studded tyres, the posted speed limit, the road/lane width and the type of winter road treatment makes it possible to assess the wear of different pavements. Empirical data for how different aggregate material, adhesion and the composition and strength of the concrete affect the abrasion resistance is presented. Measurements reveal that the rutting of modern Swedish concrete roads is appreciably lower than that of older concrete roads. However, it has so far not been economically justifiable to use the best qualities, since even the normal modern concrete qualities with the correct composition have a wear resistance that makes maintenance unnecessary until at some time between year 20 and 40 at the earliest. A comparison of rutting and wear of concrete and asphalt pavements are also given. Comparative field results show that concrete sustains much lower total rutting than asphalt. This is due to a lower wear by studded tyres but also due to the deformation of the asphalt structure caused by heavy traffic.