Concrete Pavement:

Selection of Concrete
Materials
Jerry L. Larson
IRMCA
Indiana LTAP
Basics of a Good Road

INDIANA CHAPTER
 Basic Components of a
Concrete Pavement
Surface smoothness Thickness Design
or rideability
Longitudinal joint
Transverse joint

Surface Texture

Concrete materials

Dowel bars
Tiebars
Subgrade
Base
 How Pavements Carry Loads
6600 LBS. 6600 LBS.

Flexible Pavement

pressure < 0.2 MPa

pressure
 2.0 MPa

Concrete’s rigid panels spread the load over a large area

reducing pressure on the sub grade.
Conventional Concrete Pavement Types

Full Depth
– New Construction
– Reconstruction
Overlays
Thin Overlays
Concrete Design “Optimize”

Cost
Performance
 Subbase vs. NO Subbase

Heavy Traffic?? > 120 Trucks/day =

subbase
Fine grain soils prone to erosion
Presence of moisture/water
– Potential pumping
Presence of all or most above conditions
suggests need for subbase
Successful Concrete Pavement
Design Requires Selecting
Appropriate Features
 Subgrade modification  Reinforcement
 Drainage system  Joint Sealant
 Subbase  None
 Joint Spacing  Hot pour
 18 ft  Silicone
 15 ft  Preformed
 Dowels  Surface Texture
 Thickness  Transverse tine
 8 in  Burlap drag
 10 in  Shoulder
 12 in  Asphalt
 Concrete
 Concrete Mix Design
INDOT INDOT
Class A Class C
Material Fast Track

(per cubic yard)

Cement (Type I) 564 lbs.

Cement (Type III) 708 lbs.
(658 lbs.)
Fly Ash (50 lbs.)
Coarse Aggregate * 1750 lbs. 1425 lbs.
Fine Aggregate 1250 lbs. 1350 lbs.
Water:Cement Ratio 0.45 max. 0.42
Water Reducer yes yes
Air Entrainer ** yes yes

* Maximum top size coarse aggregate 0.75 - 1.0 in.

** Air content 6% + 1.5%
 Durability = Performance
Quality Materials
– Aggregate – AP Approved, uniform
gradation
– Minimum Cement Content
– Approved Admixtures
Proper Mix Design – Control to Design
Moisture/Water Control
Air Entrainment – 6% + 1.5%
Proper Curing – Liquid membrane applied @
manufacturer’s suggested rate
 Panel Design
Plan

12 – 20 FT

Profile

or
 Jointing
Spacing based on thickness
– 6” thick – 12’ joint spacing
– > 12” thick – 18’ joint spacing
> 12” thick - saw 1/3 the depth
If not specifying dowels – can skew
joints 1’ in 12’ across pavement
High volume traffic – seal joints with
silicone or neoprene
Low volume traffic – seal joints with hot
pour rubberized asphalt
 Dowels or NO Dowels

The slabs ability to

L= x
share its load with its
neighboring slab U= 0
– Dowels
High Traffic Volumes Poor Load Transfer
(Pavements > 8 in.)
– Aggregate Interlock
Low Traffic Volumes
(Pavements < 7 in.)
L= x Good Load Transfer U= x
Surface Texture
Tineing
Surface Texture
Light Broom
Surface Texture
Drag Finish
Construction - Reconstruction
Construction - Reconstruction
 Overlays

Expected Performance
– UTW (2” – 4”) – 15 to 20 years
– Thicker overlays (4” – 6”) 20 to 25 years
Condition of existing sub-grade/pavement
Clearance issues – if none, can build on
top of old PCCP or HMA pavement
 Concrete
Resurfacing Applications
Concrete overlays for concrete
pavements:
– Bonded Concrete Overlays
– Unbonded Concrete Overlays

Concrete overlays for asphalt pavements:

– Conventional Whitetopping
– Ultra-Thin Whitetopping
 Unbonded Overlay

Consists of thick concrete layer (4” or greater)

on top of existing concrete pavement.
Uses a “separation interlayer” to separate new
overlay and existing concrete.

. . .
.

.. .
. .
. .. . .
. .
 Unbonded Overlays
Separation Interlayer:
“Key”

Overlay

Old Pavement

Smooth Slip Plane

Overlay

Old Pavement

Interlayer (1 in)
I-69 UNBONDED PCC OVERLAY

PCCP over old Concrete Pavement

 Conventional Whitetopping
Consists of thick concrete layer (4 in or greater) on top
of an existing asphalt pavement.
Behaves as a new pavement on a strong base.
Typical Whitetopping Thickness
Depends on expected traffic load.
– City streets, county roads, and small airports
4 to 7 in.
– Primary roads and interstate highways
7 to 11 in.
– Large airports
8 to 18 in.
Harding Street - Indianapolis
Built in 1985
6” Overlay on old HMA pavement
8” thick on stone where widened
Skewed Joints
 PCCP over old Chip & seal road

121st St., Fishers

Allisonville Road

PCCP over 2 lane HMA street

Allisonville Road Cross Section
 UTW Schematic

Thin Slabs
(2 to 4 inches)
Short Square Slabs
(2 to 6 ft.)

Milled Surface
Market & Columbia Streets - Warsaw

3.5” PCCP over HMA,

Gravel, & Brick
Demonstration in 2002
Photo by Indiana Public Works.com Magazine
 Warsaw Whitetop

October 2002 July 2005

Concrete Roads and Streets
Concrete Intersections & Roundabouts
US 31 & SR 32 US 6 & US 421

Gray Rd. & 96th St.

Pontiac Ave. & Wayne
Trace, Ft. Wayne

96th St. approaching

Keystone Ave.
Pervious Concrete
 Summary
KNOW YOUR OPTIONS
 Questions?
Contact:
Jerry L. Larson
(317) 634-8989
jlarson@irmca.com

Indiana Ready Mixed Concrete Association

(317) 872-6302
www.irmca.com

INDIANA CHAPTER