Abrasion Resistance and Transport Properties of Road Concrete

Abrasion resistance and impermeability are vital in road concrete. In this experimental study the compressive strength, abrasion resistance and transport properties of the road concrete were investigated. In order to study transport properties, water sorptivity and depth of penetration of water under pressure were taken into consideration. For this purpose, four different concrete mixtures having 28-day compressive strength ranging from 32 to 64 MPa were prepared, using a CEM II B-M (L/W) 42.5 R type portland composite cement, crushed limestone aggregate having a maximum size of 22.4 mm and a superplasticizer admixture (if required). The slump value of the concrete mixtures was kept constant as 75±5 mm. Two series of concrete mixtures were prepared. One of the series was coated with two different types of surface hardener admixtures (SHA). Thus, the effect of w/c ratio and presence or absence of the SHA on the abrasion resistance and transport properties of the road concrete were determined. Test result demonstrated that, compressive strength of the mixture with high w/c ratio increased by using of the SHA. However, application of SHA had not a significant effect on the compressive strength of concrete with low w/c ratio. Expect for the mixture having w/c ratio of 0.63, the control mixture showed better transport property than the counterpart mixtures coated by the SHA. Furthermore, a close relationship was found between the compressive strength and abrasion resistance of the concrete. Besides, the abrasion resistance of the concrete mixtures was found to be improved considerably by applying SHA.