Experiences in the Use of Siliceous River Gravel for Concrete Pavement Construction

One of the basic premises in any infrastructure project is the use of locally available materials in order to optimize resources. This criterion was adopted for the construction of the first section of RN 14 highway in Argentina. A concrete mix design was prepared in laboratory using a Siliceous River Gravel from the Uruguay river. The concrete prepared with this kind of aggregate showed an excellent workability, a low water demand and appropriate values of compressive and flexural strengths with regular cement contents. However, from the very beginning of pavement construction, there were some difficulties in cracking control at early ages. This paper summarizes the particularities of the use of Siliceous River Gravel for concrete pavement construction, including laboratory evaluations and the practices implemented to improve concrete behavior at early ages. Moreover, it shows how an appropriate selection of coarse aggregate in concrete design, can be a key factor in cracking tendency due to its influence on the elasticity modulus and the coefficient of thermal expansion of the concrete.