The High-Performance Concrete Carpet, a New Type of Concrete Course Layer

The paper gives an overview on an on-going R&D project carried out by LCPC (France). The aim is to develop a purely hydraulic road structure in accordance with modern infrastructure requirements, which may also be used to rehabilitate old rigid pavement. The High-Performance Concrete (HPC) carpet consists in building a thin, reinforced and unbonded HPC course layer over an hydraulic subbase. The concept is presented in details, and various questions are addressed, among which feasibility, texture, cracking, risk of buckling, resistance to trafficinduced degradation and economy. At this stage of development, where most laboratory research has been carried out successfully, the concept looks attractive and fits well with the present trend of sustainable development. A further validation is now necessary, through experimental test sections of sufficient size.