Alaska Concrete Summit

December 5, 2012
Anchorage, AK

Jim Powell, P.E.

Executive Director
American Concrete Pavement Association, Northwest Chapter
 Alaska Concrete Summit

• Studded tire wear and abrasion resistance

• Utility cuts and pavement performance
• Diamond grinding
 Studded Tire Wear

• Significant source of pavement damage

• Primary source of surface damage for PCCP
• Can result in noticeable ruts in 10 years or less
• Can be mitigated
 Studded Tire Wear

• Primary mechanism of damage is impact

• Experience indicates slower wear rate at
slower driving speeds
• Wear rates range from 0.05 mm/year per
million studded vehicles to 0.5 mm/year per
million studded vehicles
 Studded Tire Wear
• Wear rate ranges from 0.05 to 0.5 mm/yr per
million studded vehicles
• Average wear rate in WA is 0.1 mm/year per
million studded vehicles
• At 50,000 ADT and 50% stud use this equals
0.012”/year
• 20 years to 0.25” rut
• At 0.5 mm/year that is 4 years to 0.25” rut
• At 0.05 mm/year that is 40 years to 0.25” rut
 Studded Tire Wear

• Material properties affecting studded tire

wear
– Aggregate hardness
– Aggregate gradation
– Paste hardness
 Canadian Study

• Evaluated the effects of aggregate type, w/c

ratio, and silica fume
• A very low water cement ratio (0.30) can make
the concrete nearly as abrasion resistant as a
very high quality granite or trap rock
 Norway Study

• Showed that high strength concrete (100 Mpa)

exhibits the same abrasion resistance as
massive granite
 Washington State Experience

• SPS 2 test sections

• 500 psi, 650 psi, and 900 psi flexural strengths
• 500 psi and 650 psi mixes showed significant
wear after 5 years
• 900 psi still shows tine marks after 15 years
• Seems to support Canadian and Norwegian
results
 Mix Designs Recommendations

• Well graded, hard aggregates

• High cement content
• Low water cement ratio
• High compressive strength, >= 10,000 psi
 Removing Ruts

• Diamond Grinding
Diamond Grinding

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 What is Diamond Grinding?
• Removal of thin surface layer of hardened PCC using
closely spaced diamond saw blades
• Results in smooth, level pavement surface
• Longitudinal texture with desirable friction and low
noise characteristics
• Frequently performed in conjunction with other CPR
techniques, such as full-depth repairs, dowel bar
retrofit, retrofit edgedrains

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 Advantages of
Diamond Grinding

• Costs substantially less than AC overlays ($2.50 - $12

per square yard)
• Enhances surface friction and safety
• Can be accomplished during off-peak hours
• Grinding of a rough area does not require grinding of
adjacent areas
• Blends patching and other surface irregularities into
a consistent, identical surface

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 Pavement Problems Addressed

• Faulting at joints and cracks

• Built-in or construction roughness
• Polished concrete surface
• Wheelpath rutting
• Unacceptable noise level
• Permanent upward slab warping
• Inadequate transverse slope

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Faulted Joints

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 Utility Cuts in Concrete Pavements

• We can’t use concrete because it is difficult to

restore when cut
• City of Seattle Study
 City of Seattle Study

• Looked at pavement performance over utility

cuts to develop cost schedule
• Found significant reduction in pavement
condition on asphalt pavements with utility
cuts
• Asphalt cuts typically require frequent
patching and thicker overlays
 City of Seattle Study

• Found no reduction in pavement condition

rating in concrete streets with utility cuts
• Policy requires that any intact panel be
replaced entirely
• No panel can be left in three pieces
• Patch constitutes 1 piece
• Effectively requires either full panel or half
panel replacement
 City of Seattle Study

• Policy effectively ensures that repairs in PCCP

pavements restore the load transfer and
structural integrity of the pavement
Repair Procedures

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 Partial Depth Repairs

• Repairs deterioration in the top 1/3 of the slab.

• Generally located at joints, but can be placed anywhere
surface defects occur.

.
. . .
Partial-Depth Patch Layout

2 - 6 in. min.
2 - 6 in. min.

Patch
Spall

2 in. (min.) - t/3 (max.)

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 Partial Depth
Concrete Removal
• Sawing and chipping
• Carbide milling
– Transverse
– Longitudinal

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Sawing & Chipping

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Point Bearing

Pop out & Breakage

Joint Closure Debonding

Expansion Expansion

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 Full-Depth Patching

• Purpose
– Restore structure
– Restore ride

• Used for
– Joint/crack deterioration
– Broken slabs
– Corner breaks

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 Full-Depth Patching

Joint Deterioration
–Spalling (below surface)
–Cracking

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 Full-Depth Patching

Corner Breaks

Transverse
Cracks
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 Load Transfer
Jointed Pavements:
Patch

12 in. c-c
typ. spacing

Top View Optional

Dowels

12 in. typ.

d/2

Side View

Remove loose material

and fill any depressions
with concrete 40
 Load Transfer
Utility Patches:

Good Utility
Practice Trench

9-10 in. rim

Poor Utility
Practice Trench

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Placement of Bond-Breaking Board

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Completed patch combined with
diamond grinding

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QUESTIONS?