New Method of Paving Concrete Production

Modern concrete pavements are based on sophisticated blends of cements, often containing SCM, graded nonreactive aggregates and various admixtures, all of which are aimed at producing the most durable pavement possible. Placement techniques also incorporate the use of various curing compounds, which again are aimed at producing durable concrete.

However, try as we might, it is often not possible to produce pavements that are crack free. While specifications such as RMS R83 set tight guidelines for the rejection of cracked pavements, it is recognized that a degree of plastic and drying shrinkage cracking is acceptable, even if not desirable.

For example, recent concrete pavements on the Hume Highway north of the Victorian border are recognized as good quality paving but, in reality, this paving concrete has a heavy net of micro cracks, which is a “time bomb” for the deterioration of the pavement. Pavements which are cracked ultimately have a reduced service life and increased maintenance compared with un-cracked pavements. Efforts to remedy this can be seen in specifications such as RMS M212. However, cracks with a width of less than 1 mm are often not treated, which may partly be due to the absence of a suitable product and cost effective method to do so.

In this talk we present a new, currently being patented, Method of Paving Concrete Production, which dramatically reduces the surface cracking and increases paving concrete durability.

The presentation concludes that, the suggested Method of Paving Concrete Production and the activator Ad-Tek H allows to produce paving concrete with significant surface cracking reduction, and the “produced” concrete possesses extra positive properties: - increased abrasion resistance, - reduced water permeability, - increased resistance against chloride ions diffusion - increased protection against steel reinforcement corrosion. The treatment with Ad-Tek H does not increase the slipperiness of the concrete surface – it distinguishes Ad-Tek H from the different concrete surface sealers and waterproofers.