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TABLES OF CONTENT
1. Introduction
2. Definition of The Rigid Pavement
3. Principles Of Design
3.1Thickness Design
3.2Joints Design
3.3Mix Design
Concrete rigid pavements have been used for highways, airports, streets,
local roads, parking lots, industrial facilities, and other types of
infrastructure. When properly designed and built out of durable materials,
concrete rigid pavements can provide many decades of service with little or
no maintenance. In some cases, however, design or construction errors or
poorly selected materials have considerably reduced pavement life. It is
therefore important for pavement engineers to understand materials
selection, mixture proportioning, design and detailing, drainage, construction
techniques, and pavement performance.
Rigid pavement is the technical term for any road surface made of concrete.
The largest advantages to using concrete pavement are in its durability and
ability to hold a shape. There are three basic types of rigid pavement
commonly used worldwide. The basic design of rigid pavement is very
simple. A surface layer, made up of slabs of Portland cement concrete
(PCC), sits on top of a handful of sub-layers (See Fig 1). The layer directly
under the PCC is more flexible than the concrete, but still quite rigid. This
layer provides a stable base for the PCC as well as assists in drainage. Some
roads have a second sub-layer under the first that is even more flexible,
while some simply have the existing soil. The biggest factor in deciding
whether this second layer is necessary is the composition of the existing
material [1].
The way concrete pavement deals with cracking is the main difference
between the three styles of pavement. The most common style, joined plain
concrete (JPC), is made up of slabs with no steel reinforcement (See Fig 2).
When cracks develop, they should occur in the cracks between slabs, making
the road surface easy to repair [2].
Joined reinforced concrete contains a steel mesh that reinforces the structure
of the concrete slab (See Fig 3). The concrete slabs used in this style are
often much larger than those used in JPC designs. The reinforcement
prevents some cracks, allowing the larger slabs to be effective. The cracks,
when they appear, still typically occur between slab[2].
Figure (3) JRCP Jointed Reinforced Concrete Pavement
There are two main reasons to use rigid pavement, both of which stem from
its hardness. Since the surface is harder, it is also more durable over time.
This keeps the road in good working order far longer than softer surfaces.
The other advantage of concrete roads is in their shaping. Since the surface
can withstand a lot of weight without deformation, it is possible to create
groves and channels in the road to provide extra traction and move water off
the roads surface [2].
3. PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN
Expansion joints
Contraction joints
Hinge joints
Construction joints
Hinge joints are used mainly to reduce cracking along the center line of
highway pavements [5].
PCC mix design has evolved chiefly through experience and well-
documented empirical relationships. Normally, the mix design procedure
involves two basic steps [8]:
PCC is a complex material formed from some very basic ingredients. When
used in pavement, this material has several desired performance
characteristics some of which are in direct conflict with one another. PCC
pavements must resist deformation, crack in a controlled manner, be durable
over time, resist water damage, provide a good tractive surface, and yet be
inexpensive, readily made and easily placed. In order to meet these
demands, mix design can manipulate the following variables [6]:
(1) Skokie, IL, Design of Concrete Pavements for Streets and Roads,
American Concrete Pavement Association, publication No.
18184.03P, 2006.
(2) http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/engineering/geotech/pubs/05037/01.cfm
(5) Garber, Nicholas J., and Lester A. Hoel. Traffic and highway
engineering. Cengage Learning, 2014.
(7) http://www.pavementinteractive.org/article/pcc-mix-design-
fundamentals/
(8) Portland Cement Association (PCA) (1988) Design of Heavy
Industrial Concrete pavements, Information Series IS234.01P, Skokie,
IL: Portland Cement Association.
(9) Mindess, S., Young, J.F., and Darwin, D. (2003) Concrete, 2nd
Edition, Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education.