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Pavements

Portland Cement Concrete Pavements Research

Products

  • Model Performance-Related Specifications for Concrete Paving - PaveSpec 3.0 Software
    PaveSpec 3.0 CD.Performance-Related Specifications (PRS) are similar to quality assurance specifications; however, the measured acceptance quality characteristics (or AQC's, which include concrete strength, slab thickness, initial smoothness and others) are directly related to pavement performance through mathematical relationships. Performance is defined by key distress types and smoothness and is directly related to the future maintenance, rehabilitation, and user costs of the highway. This link between measured AQC's and future life-cycle costs (LCC's) provides the ability to develop rational and fair contractor pay adjustments that depend on the as-constructed quality delivered for the project. An upgraded PaveSpec 3.0 is now available.

  • HIPERPAV: FHWA's New Software for Concrete Pavement Construction
    HIPERPAV is a user-friendly, Windows-based program that provides guidance on the design and construction of concrete pavement. A two-module program, HIPERPAV contains a set of guidelines that will help the end-user predict and thus prevent potential pavement performance problems... [more]

  • Petrographic Methods of Examining Hardened Concrete: A Petrographic Manual
    This manual was written by Hollis N. Walker while she was a research petrographer with the Virginia Transportation Research Council (VTRC). First published in 1992 as a Virginia SP&R report, it was intended as a reference and guide manual for those persons conducting petrographic evaluations of concrete and concrete materials. For those who have obtained a copy of the manual and used it, it has served that purpose well. Since its introduction, VTRC has continued to make the manual available to those who request it... [more]

  • Thermal Coefficient of Portland Cement Concrete
    All materials expand and contract to some extent as their temperatures rise or fall. The rate at which this occurs is called the thermal coefficient of expansion (T-coeff), and it is measured as change in length per change in temperature. The T-coeff of concrete is one of the factors to be considered in the design of Portland Cement Concrete (PCC) pavements. The Concrete Team at HNR-20 has developed equipment and a standard test method with which to determine the T-coeff of PCC... [more]

  • Concrete Materials and Mix Design for Assuring Durable Pavements
    Concrete can certainly be used to construct durable, long-lasting pavements; every day we ride over proof of this premise throughout this country and the world. There are also, however, examples of concrete pavements that have had unexpectedly poor performance. In these latter instances, usually one or more aspects of the materials and mix design, the environment, the pavement design and the construction process were not sufficiently considered for the requirements placed on the concrete. The objective of this paper is to review those factors that influence the long term performance of concrete pavements, particularly the demands placed on the concrete as a material, in order to show that with due consideration of these factors, good durability is achievable with certainty... [more]

  • High-Performance Concrete: Understanding the Basics
    Over the last decade, the term "high-performance concrete" (HPC) has more and more come into popular use as an ideal we should all strive for. There seems to be universal agreement that production and use of HPC is a worthy goal; however an additional systematic discussion of the concept may be in order to help clarify what it is we all are seeking. In the course of this discussion the author seeks to expand, or at least reposition, the paradigm or "box" each of us has constructed in our own minds to encompass, and often confine HPC... [more]

Research Reports

The following are FHWA research reports. If you are interested in obtaining a hard copy of one of these reports, please contact the FHWA Report Center. Fax requests to (301) 577-1421. The Report Center may be reached by phone at (301) 577-0906.

 
This page last modified on 06/09/06
 

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United States Department of Transportation - Federal Highway Administration