Australian concrete pavements are relatively unique in the world with the majority consisting of unreinforced jointed plain concrete. Joints are sealed to prevent ingress of incompressible particles that can cause premature failure. Over the past decade one of the most substantial short-term maintenance costs for plain concrete pavements has been...
Fracturing Concrete Pavement Technology
There are a large number of concrete pavements in Australia, with many dating back to the first half of the 20th century. These concrete pavements are still in use today, and since the time these pavements were constructed, we have seen an evolution in traffic volumes and the size of...
Construction – The Devil’s in the Detailed Design
Rigid pavement RFIs (request for information) and NCRs (nonconformance report) are an ongoing battle between contractors and designers. This is the frontline of construction phase services (CPS) and when not managed correctly, can lead to tension between contractors and designers, which can lead to breakdown of communications and affect construction...
A Fresh Look at Pavement Life Costs
Whole of life cycle costing of pavements has not been revisited for nearly 27 years since 1990 by the Bureau of Transport Economics (now BITRE). Previously, asphalt pavements were considered to have a lower cost of construction but required regular maintenance (every 5 to 10 years) whereas concrete pavements are...
The important role materials play in concrete pavement design, performance, and service life
The materials that make up concrete have a direct influence on the decisions made during pavement design and construction, as well as the performance of the pavement in service. What happens when material performance varies from what was considered at design stage? What if we need to change construction methods...
Influence of Ground Granulated Blast Furnace Slag (GGBFS) Cement in concrete pavement mix designs
Roads and Maritime Services (RMS) pavement specifications require the use of Grade 1 fly ash and Ground Granulated Blast Furnace slag cement (GGBFS) for R82 – lean mix concrete subbase [1], and also fly ash and/or GGBFS for R83 – Concrete Pavement Base [2], where reactive aggregates are used. This...
How Runway Pavement Value Choices are Influenced by Construction Costs, Loading, Subgrade and Operational Considerations
In Australia, most runway pavements are constructed from asphalt, however the reverse is markedly true for the USA. Melbourne’s Essendon runway was originally concrete but was overlaid with thick asphalt many years ago. Asphalt runways at Melbourne’s Tullamarine and Amberley have some sections of concrete. This paper explores the determination...
Features, benefits and challenges of air entrained pavement concrete mixes using fly ash (ASCP 5th Conference)
The benefits of replacing a proportion of cement with fly ash in concrete mixes have been well understood for many years, particularly in the mitigation of alkali silica reactions. In pavement concrete mixes, however, the properties of fly ash can often play havoc in controlling the amount of air in...
The Case For Lower Strength Gain and Early Age Acceptance of Concrete for Road Pavements
The objective of this paper is to encourage informed discussion among concrete pavement engineers. In New South Wales there is a substantial length of contemporary concrete highway construction. A very large inventory of concrete strength results is available. These have shown that construction specification requirements are being significantly exceeded in...
Intricacies Surrounding the Machine Placement of Concrete Pavements in Tunnels: Current state of Practice.
Transport tunnels built in Australia within the past 25 years have typically been designed and constructed consecutively. However, in recent years Australia (and Sydney in particular) is witnessing these projects being delivered concurrently, which are in turn diluting the skills pool across all facets of the industry. Sydney is currently...
Concrete Highway Pavement Load Capacity for Possible Future Increases in Permissible Axle Loads
From time to time there is discussion within Government and industry about measures to improve freight transport efficiency. These discussions often include increasing permissible axle loads. If this was to happen it may also be limited to major road transport corridors. This paper neither supports nor sets out a case...
Key Performance Requirements for Long Lasting Airport Concrete Pavements
This presentation by GOMACO takes wide ranging review of construction and whole-of-life review of the performance of airfield pavements, including: Actual Airport Facts and Trends Airport Design Advantages Various Adopted Paving Methodologies and Technical Features Key Performance Requirements for Long-Lasting Airport Concrete Pavements GOMACO’s Worldwide Airport References Conclusions