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WHITE TOPPINGS FOR REPAIR OF EXISTING PAVEMENTS:

PROSPECTS AND RESEARCH CHALLENGES
1 2 3
Tiju Susan Thomas Snehalatha P.S. Dr.Dhanya B.S. Dr. Sunitha K. Nayar4
1
Research scholar, Department of Civil Engineering, RIT, Government engg. College, Kottayam
2
PG student, Department of Civil Engineering, RIT, Government engg. College, Kottayam
3
Assistant Professor, Department of Civil Engineering, RIT, Government engg. College, Kottayam
4
Assistant Professor (visiting), Department of Civil Engineering, IIT Palakkad

ABSTRACT

Repair and rehabilitation of distressed asphalt pavements has always been a major economic
burden on the infrastructure development agencies in our country. This situation draws the need
for a sustainable solution of rehabilitation of damaged bituminous pavements for which white
topping could be an excellent option. White toppings are Portland cement concrete overlays
constructed on top of an existing pavement. It is an effective means to enhance pavement
performance by improving reflectivity, increasing structural longevity and better surface profile
stability. In this paper, a review concerning the problems and prospects of concrete used in
white toppings is discussed. The use of supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs) is a
suitable alternative for most sustainability related concerns in concrete usage and also improves
durability. A pilot study was conducted to assess the effect of replacement of ordinary Portland
cement with two different SCMs such as slag and fly ash along with their combinations for
possible white topping applications and the results are discussed.
Keywords: white topping, supplementary cementitious material, sustainability, durability

1. INTRODUCTION

In a developing country like India, extending the service life of existing pavements is a
huge task, especially in urban areas where the demand is more. According to the World
Bank data, nearly 35% of Indians now live in urban areas in 2018 and rely on city roads for
transport (https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.URB.TOTL.IN.ZS?locations=IN).The
increasing number of vehicles put much pressure on the roads, resulting in their destruction
in the form of ruts, cracks, deep potholes etc. According to the Ministry of Road transport &
Highways, nearly 11,000 people died in road accidents caused by potholes from year 2014
to 2017 in India itself (https://community.data.gov.in/persons-killed-in-road-accidents-in-india-
from-2000-to-2017/). Thus, in order to protect the life as well as to meet the need of the
people in the country, our roads demand better structural strength and more service life.

Figure 1. (a) Pot-holes in pavements. (b)Damaged bituminous roads

(https://theconstructor.org/) (https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Thiruva
nanthapuram/damaged-roads-pose-a-threat-to-
motorists/article7886469.ece)
Even in this alarming situation, not much effort has been done to propose a long term
solution that brings relief to both roads and its users. In the last five year plan (12th Five
year plan, 2012-2017), it is mentioned that the total annual funds allocated towards
maintenance is generally only 60% of the actual required fund. This leads to non-
maintenance of a major part of pavements (Planning commission of India, Mane et al.
2016). In this context, it is ideal to shift the line of thought to develop maintenance free
overlays with high service life such as white topping (Maitra et al. 2019, Hossain and
Sultana 2010).
White toppings are plain cement concrete overlays over existing bituminous pavements.
The first white topping project was done in 1918 at Terre Haute, Indiana, USA to repair
existing asphalt pavements (Rasmussen et al. 2004, McGhee, 1994, ACPA 2013).In India,
the first white topping project was done in Pune in 2003 (Sehgal et al. 2015). Several
projects have been implemented till now especially in metro cities like Hyderabad,
Bengaluru (The Newsminute, 2019). The Indian Road Congress (IRC) published ‘Tentative
Guidelines for Conventional, Thin and Ultra-thin white topping’ in 2008 (IRC: SP-76,
2008). Later IRC published code IRC: SP-76, 2015 ‘Guidelines for Conventional and thin
White topping’.
This paper reviews the prospects and research challenges for concrete white toppings used
for the repair of existing bituminous pavements.

2. WHITE TOPPING

White topping is a Portland Cement Concrete (PCC) overlay that is made over an existing
bituminous road (Maitra et al. 2019).The concrete overlay can be either bonded or
unbonded with the bituminous layer underneath. It is stronger than the bituminous overlay
and more resistant to distresses like rutting and surface initiated cracks (Rasmussen et al.
2004).

2.1 Types of white toppings

Based on the thickness, white topping can be classified into three types viz., conventional,
thin and ultra thin white toppings.
In conventional white toppings, concrete is laid directly over the existing pavement. It has
a thickness above 200mm and is able to carry heavily loaded vehicles. Bonding between
the existing bituminous layer and the concrete overlay is not a mandatory thing in this
category. When the underlying asphalt pavement is extremely damaged with cracks and
potholes, conventional white topping can be provided.
Thin white topping is preferred when the existing road is fair without any heavy signs of
distress. It can be constructed with or without bond between the new and existing layers. Its
thickness ranges between 100 to 200mm and is preferred for medium traffic.
Ultra thin white topping has a thickness below 100 mm and bonding between the new and
existing layers are needed for its proper functioning. It is suitable for low traffic roads. As
the thickness is very low, better performing concrete like fibre reinforced concrete (FRC) or
high performance concrete (HPC) is generally used to construct this category of white
toppings (Maitra et al. 2019, Nooruddin et al. 2017, Balbo et al. 1999, ACPA EB 1998).

2.2Advantages of white toppings

White topping offer the potential for extended service life, increased structural capacity,
reduced maintenance requirements, and lower life cycle costs when compared with
bituminous overlays (Sinha 2007, Sreenivasa, 2011, Kumar 2015).
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Concrete white topping have more service life compared to bituminous overlays (Maitra et
al. 2019). When bituminous overlays are laid on existing pavements, their life gets reduced
progressively. Rutting and cracking which are predominant in the case of bituminous
pavements is normally absent with concrete surfaces of white topping. It improves
structural capacity of existing pavement and if built on a strong base course, it impedes
structural distresses (Sinha, 2007, Sreenivasa, 2011, Kumar, 2015, Kumar et al., 2017).
Quick and faster construction reduces the inconvenience to road users and less frequent
maintenance helps in reducing life cycle cost (Concrete Matters, ACPA 2005). It is an
effective means to enhance pavement performance by improving reflectivity, increasing
structural longevity and better surface profile stability (Sinha 2007). White topping is more
suitable to Indian scenario where annual budget allocations are much important for
infrastructure development.
Figure 2 shows the photographs of some of the roads that are white topped.

Figure 2.White topped roads (https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/bangalore/White-

topping-can-free-roads-of-potholes/article13979308.ece)

3. PROBLEMS/ RESEARCH CHALLENGES OF WHITE TOPPINGS

The performance of a resurfaced pavement system is influenced by many factors such as

strength and integrity of the underlying pavement, the effectiveness of the bond, and the
ability of the two layers to move monolithically to maintain the bond, the overlay jointing
and curing techniques (NCPT 2008).
The highest limitation of concrete pavement is the usage of very high quantity of natural
resources and the related environmental issues. In order to reduce the consumption of
cement, one solution put forthis the use of supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs) in
concrete (Hanna et al. 2014, Swamy, 2003). A supplementary cementitious material or
mineral admixture may be defined as a material that, when used in conjunction with
Portland cement, contributes to the properties of the hardened concrete through hydraulic or
pozzolanic activity or both (Thomas, 2013). Examples of SCMs that are used to make
concrete are fly ash, ground granulated blast furnace slag or slag, silica fume, volcanic
ashes, calcined clay, diatomaceous earth etc. The most commonly used SCMs are fly ash
and slag. In general, SCMs improve the durability properties of concrete (Swamy, 2008).
Fly ash is used in many places for making concrete used for the white topping application
(Kristiawan and Aditya, 2015). However, the potential of slag is not explored much. Slag
will be a good option in this scenario as slag will give better durability performance,
without compromising on the early age strength properties. A study by Varner (2014) for
FHWA reported that slag cements performed best in white topping application in terms of
shrinkage reduction (FHWA/MS-DOT-RD-14-247). For the pavement/ white toppings
construction, it is highly essential to use concrete having high early age strength because
the road need to be get opened for the traffic as early as possible. If fly ash is used, the
property of early age strength attainment might get compromised. In that case, ternary
blends of fly ash and slag would be a solution.
Further, distress can also be observed in concrete pavements due to disintegration of
concrete. The disintegration of concrete is closely related to permeability and porosity of
the concrete used. Use of SCMs are proved to improve the overall porosity of the system,
leading to more durable concrete, thus enhancing the service life of the structure.
In order to reduce the usage of aggregates, recycled concrete aggregates prepared from
construction and demolition waste can be used. In concrete pavements, recycled aggregates
have been successfully used and are found to be an effective solution for the high cost of
concrete pavements (Ossa et al. 2016). Thus, its potential use in white toppings can be
studied.
For reducing the usage of the most precious resource, water, efficient use of proper
chemical admixture needs to be explored.
Another limitation that could restrict the adoption of concrete overlays is the difficulty in
cutting the joints at very close intervals. This can lead to increase in cost and low riding
comfort. In this regard the solution lies in improving the cracking resistance of concrete by
providing sufficient ductility to the matrix. To solve this issue, FRC can be used for white
topping concrete. The improvement in performance due to fibre addition to concrete is
mainly due to improvement in toughness, crack control, impact resistance and fatigue
characteristics of the concrete (Ganesan et al. 2008, Nayar et al. 2014).Also the existing
design methodologies for white topping can be modified to make it applicable if FRC is
used for concrete in white topping.

4. PILOT STUDY

A study was conducted to examine the potential of SCMs such as ground granulated blast
furnace slag (slag) and fly ash to be used in concrete for white topping. The objective of the
study was to select a sustainable concrete mix by the effective use of the above SCMs.
Binary mixes with 30% cement replacements with both slag and fly ash were studied.
Further, ternary blend of both these SCMs at a replacement level of 15% each was also
examined. The study included evaluation of the mechanical properties of concrete such as
compressive strength and flexural strength only.

4.1 Materials and methods

The materials used in this study include Ordinary portland cement, fly ash, slag, sand,
coarse aggregates (max. size 10mm and 20mm) and chemical admixture (SNF based). Mix
design was done for M 40 grade concrete following IS 10262: 2009. The grade of M40 was
selected as this is recommended for the white topping application. SCMs were replaced on
the basis of weight. A total of 4 mixes were prepared. The admixture dosage was adjusted
in order to get medium workability. The mix design is given in table 1.
Table 1. Details of mix proportioning
Mix Binder 10 mm 20 mm
No. Sand Water SP
w/c content SCM content aggregate aggregate
(kg/m )3
(kg/m3) (kg/m3)
(kg/m3) (kg/m3) (kg/m3)
1 0.33 430 0 652 496 744 160 0.86
2 0.33 430 30% Slag 723 482 749 160 0.60
3 0.33 430 30% fly ash 634 482 721 159 0.60
15% fly ash
4 0.33 430 638 485 727 160 0.60
and 15% slag

The performance was evaluated on the basis of compressive strength (7 days and 28 days)
as well as flexural strength (28 days) following the procedure laid in IS 516. These tests
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were chosen as compressive strength and flexural strength are the two mechanical
parameters which affect the strength of the concrete in pavements.

4.2 Results and discussions

Table 2 shows the compressive strength and flexural strength test results of different mixes
used in the study.
Table 2. Results of compressive strength and flexural strength tests
Type of concrete mix Percentage 28
7 Day 28
of SCMs DayFlexural
CompressiveStrength DayCompressive
added Strength
(N/mm2) Strength (N/mm2)
(%) (N/mm2)
Concrete with OPC alone 0 34.04 48.81 7.79
Concrete with fly ash 30 23.99 33.60 7.24
Concrete with slag 30 35.70 50.95 8.06
Concrete with fly ash and 15 + 15 7.79
29.25 38.43
slag
Target value 48.25 5 to 6 (IRC
32.17
(IS 456) 76)

It can be seen that mixes with OPC alone and 30% slag were able to meet the designed
target strength criteria (48.25 N/mm2) for M 40 grade concrete. The addition of fly ash
caused a significant reduction in compressive strength. All the mixes satisfied the flexural
strength criteria laid in IRC: SP: 76-2015 for white topping application (ie., 5 to 6 N/mm2).
The performance of slag mix was the best, both in terms of compressive strength results as
well as the flexural strength results. This was followed by mix with OPC alone. Compared
to binary mix with fly ash and OPC, performance of mix with ternary blend of fly ash, slag
and OPC was better.
The better performance of slag mix owes to the fact that slag is both cementitious and
pozzolanic in nature. The reduction in performance of fly ash mixes may be because of the
quality of the fly ash obtained. It might have more SiO2 content. Detailed characterisation
of the raw materials as well as the concrete can be used to find out the reason behind the
performance of different mixes. It can be inferred from this limited study that replacement
at this level is not possible using the given fly ash if the evaluation criteria is based on 28
day parameters. If the parameters are based on evaluation at a higher age, the performance
may come to a better level owing to the pozzolanic action.
The study concluded that slag can be used at a replacement level of 30% for concretes used
for white topping application. For using fly ash, the mix design parameters need to be
varied so that the required mechanical strength criteria can be satisfied.

5. CONCLUSIONS

Laying white-topping over existing asphalt pavement under distress could be considered a
cost-effective repair strategy. The current paper reviewed the advantages and prospects of
white toppings. The challenges associated with the same are also identified.
The major challenges include addressing the sustainable aspects of concrete, improving the
crack resistance characteristics of concrete in order to increase the joint spacing etc.
Efficient usage of SCMs and chemical admixtures, as well as usage of recycled aggregate
concrete are some of the ways to improve the sustainability aspects of concrete. The short
joint spacing induced by the lower load carrying capacity of the slab and higher shrinkage
potential is a direct element contributing to the increase cost of white topping. Use of fibre
reinforced concrete can provide a solution to this issue. In order to address all these issues
and also to impart sufficient ductility to the stiff concrete matrix and durability, fibres and
SCMs could be used in the concrete mix.
As inferred from the pilot study, the concrete mix with slag is suitable for the white topping
application from the strength test results. As it reduces the cement content, it addresses
most sustainability related issues faced by white toppings. The fly ash mixes were not able
to yield similar results. This lays the scope for further research in this area by the utilisation
of SCMs in concrete used for overlays.

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