Non-destructive ultrasonic evaluation of construction variability effect on concrete pavement performance
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International Journal of Pavement Research and Technology Journal homepage: www.springer.com/42947
Non-destructive ultrasonic evaluation of construction variability effect on concrete pavement performance Lucio Salles de Sallesa*, Ryan Conwayb, Lev Khazanovicha, Randal Barnesc, Kyle Hoeghd, Deividi da Silva Pereirae, Thomas Burnhamd a
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Benedum Hall 3700 O'Hara Street | Pittsburgh, PA 1526, USA bHydrogeologist, Barr Engineering, 4300 Market Pointe Dr, Minneapolis, MN 55435, USA c Department of Civil, Environmental, and Geo-Engineering, Pillsbury Drive S.E. Minneapolis, MN 55455-0116, USA d Minnesota Department of Transportation, 395 John Ireland Blvd, Minnesota, USA e Department of Transportation Engineering, Federal University of Santa Maria, Av. Roraima, 1000 Santa Maria, Brazil Received 26 June 2020; received in revised form 26 August 2020; accepted 2 September 2020
Abstract
It is commonly recognized that non-uniformity of as-constructed Portland Cement Concrete (PCC) pavement may negatively affect long-term pavement performance. Conventional wisdom states that PCC thickness deficiency is the most important factor causing premature pavement failures. To address it, transportation agencies often impose strict penalties for not meeting the designed slab thickness requirements, thus contractors build slightly thicker slabs to avoid fines. However, other aspects of construction variability on pavement performance are mostly ignored by studies because conventional methods for construction uniformity assessment fail to provide sufficient information to quantify their effect. This study utilized a non-destructive ultrasonic test to evaluate in-situ pavement construction variability. To investigate the correlation between construction variability and surface distresses, a combination of non-destructive ultrasonic thickness measurements and visual distress surveys were performed in highways prior to rehabilitation. PCC slab thicknesses and shear wave velocities were computed from recorded ultrasound signals. An in-depth statistical analysis was performed to investigate possible relations between thickness or shear wave velocity and distresses using various pavement performance parameters. The main results of this analysis illustrate the importance of material quality and uniformity control during construction, since alterations in material properties significantly influence the presence of distresses. Shear wave velocity variations significantly correlate to cracked and broken slab panels in two sections, and, more importantly, to any type of distress in all tested pavement sections. Keywords: Portland cement concrete pavement; Construction uniformity; Non-destructive ultrasonic testing; Slab thickness; Concrete shear wave velocity
1. Introduction Concrete slab thickness is the key design output of Portland Cement Concrete (PCC) pavements and the major focus of control and inspection during and after construction. An excess in thickness implies economic loss while thi
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