Chapter 1: INTRODUCTION

Pavement Repair: A world wide necessity :

A Worldwide Necessity, the need for rapid repair and replacement of concrete pavement is
evident in almost all part of world. Many aging pavements are exhibiting alarming deterioration as the
volume of traffic they carry increases to an all-time high (Figure 1). In many locations, pavements must
be repaired under traffic because traffic cannot be diverted for any significant length of time (Figure 2).
Right-of-way for building new roadways is scarce and difficult to obtain. As a result, agencies are forced
to rehabilitate roadways with rapid-repair materials that can be installed effectively without adversely
affecting traffic flow. Making matters worse, money for repair and replacement is limited. Agencies are
often forced to choose the cheapest repair material available, even though it may not last for more than a
few years. Over time, agencies must repair newly deteriorated areas and replace previous repairs that have
failed.
A more sustainable approach is to select durable materials that will last for decades, even if the
initial costs are slightly higher. Precast concrete pavement systems are durable and reliable alternatives to
traditional rapid-repair techniques for concrete pavements .

Fig 1 : Deteriorated concrete pavement Fig 2 :Precast concrete repair underway in busy
traffic.

Precast concrete structures:

The use of precast concrete structural members is a widely applied, well-established, economical
construction technique. Concrete columns, beams, panels, piles, pipes, railroad ties, and other elements
for a variety of structures are cast at permanent factories or temporary casting yards, transported to the
construction site, and then assembled. Advantages of pre casting are as follows: generally good quality
control, economical mass production, rapid construction, reduced congestion at the side, and rapid
availability of the structure for use.

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Precast concrete pavement (PCP) popularity :-
Technology is gaining wider acceptance in the United States , Russia, Europe etc for rapid repair
and rehabilitation of concrete pavements, as well as for reconstruction of heavily trafficked asphalt
concrete intersections. Widespread use in the U.S. is fairly recent, with most projects in service less than
about 14 years. Nonetheless, dozens of projects have been constructed, and advances continue to be made
in all aspects of the technology, including panel design, fabrication, and installation. PCP technolog is
being used for intermittent repairs (both full-depth repairs and full panel replacement) and for continuous
applications (longerlength/wider-area rehabilitation) with service life expectations of at least 20 years for
repairs and at least 40 years for continuous applications, without significant future corrective treatment.
Despite the widespread use of pre casting in the construction industry, the application of the
technique to pavements has been very limited specially in India. Because a concrete pavement consists of
a very large number of identical slabs, mass production of precast pavement slabs could be economical.
More rapid construction, construction in adverse weather, improved use of materials, and reduced cost are
potential benefits of precasting concrete pavements.

Fig 3 : Precast concrete pavement, New Rochelle constructed under New York thruway authority.

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Precast concrete pavement behavior :
To understand the behavior patterns of prestressed concrete pavements it is helpful to first review
those of conventional concrete pavements. Design procedures for conventional rigid pavements assume
that load stresses remain within the elastic range of the concrete. This in turn requires that the tensile
stresses that develop in the extreme fibers of a slab be limited to a value less than the flexural strength of
the concrete. Under this concept the major portion of the slab between its top and bottom fibers is not
fully utilized to resist load stresses. Therefore, it can be argued from a theoretical standpoint that this
situation represents an inefficient use of construction materials. Furthermore, because concrete is a
relatively brittle material, pavement deflections that occur within the elastic range are small.
Consequently, it can also be argued that complete advantage cannot be taken of the support potential of
the subbase and subgrade. It is obvious that permanent compressive forces induced by prestressing may
be utilized to increase the effective flexural strength of the concrete. This would permit somewhat thinner
pavements for a given loading condition. However, the structural benefits derived from prestressing were
limited merely to extending the elastic range of the concrete, it is doubtful that prestressed pavements, as
such, would receive serious consideration. Of particular interest is the fact that prestressed pavements
may enter an elasto-plastic phase of behavior where load-carrying capability is substantially increased. In
the elasto-plastic phase of behavior, tensile cracks occur in the lower portion of the pavement. Under an
applied load these cracks serve as momentary or partial plastic hinges. When the load is removed, the
force of the prestress closes the cracks and the pavement regains its rigidity. Prestressed pavements can be
designed to carry traffic loadings in this phase of behavior well beyond the purely elastic range. This is
the characteristic that gives prestressed pavements a potential structural advantage over conventional
pavements.

Defination :
A generic definition of a PCP system is as follows:
“Precast pavement systems are fabricated or assembled off-site, transported to the project site and
installed on a prepared foundation (existing pavement or regraded foundation). The system components
require no field curing or time to achieve strength before opening to traffic”.

Advantages of Precast concrete pavement vs cast in situ concrete pavement :

 Better-quality concrete: problems related to concrete delivery or paving equipment operation,
including poor concrete quality, concrete consolidation, and over finishing of the concrete surface, are
eliminated.
 Better concrete curing conditions: curing of the precast concrete panels takes place under controlled
conditions at the plant.
 Minimal weather restrictions on placement: the construction season can be extended because panels
can be placed in cool weather or during light rainfall.
 Reduced delay before opening to traffic: on-site curing of concrete is not required. As a result,
precast concrete pavements can be installed during nighttime lane closures and be ready to be opened
to traffic the following morning.
 No joint raveling: Early-age failures due to late or shallow joint sawing are eliminated.

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Precast concrete pavement systems are used in highway corridors with high traffic volume and where
lane closures are problematic. The precast concrete pavement work is performed during the night and
with short closures, typically from about 8 p.m. to about 6 a.m..

Fig 4 : Repair work for precast concrete pavement is carried out in night time.

The key concerns about precast concrete pavement are constructability, concrete durability, and pavement
performance as primarily affected by joint load transfer and panel support condition. Sufficient advances
have been made in precast concrete pavement technology to reliably achieve the following four key
attributes:

 Constructability – Techniques and equipment are available to ensure acceptable production rates for
the installation of PCP systems.
 Concrete durability – Plant fabrication of precast panels results in excellent concrete strength and
durability.
 Load transfer at joints – Reliable and economical techniques are available to provide effective load
transfer at transverse joints in both jointed and prestressed PCP systems.
 Panel support – Techniques to provide adequate and uniform base support conditions are available
and continue to be improved.
 Performance/efficiency – PCP panels can be thinner than equivalent cast-in-place concrete pavement
slab and last longer because of prestressing and/or reinforcing elements in the PCP systems.

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Once installed, PCP systems can be expected to behave, under traffic and environmental loadings,
similarly to like CIP concrete pavement systems. The primary difference in the two technologies is how
each system is constructed. The main advantage of PCP is that it is a truly rapid rehabilitation technology
that can also result in longer-lasting treatments. In addition, as discussed later, prestressing techniques
allow the use of PCP to achieve higher load carrying capacity within a constrained pavement cross
section when reconstructing existing pavements.

For highway agencies interested or involved in the implementation of PCP technology, the
following technology issues are of interest:
1. Warrant for use of the PCP technology - This is based on available successful alternative technologies
for rapid pavement repair and rehabilitation.
2. Suitability of a pavement as a candidate for PCP application - Site access, maintenance of traffic, and
availability of nearby pre casting plants are key decision criteria.
3. Precast pavement system approval, selection, and design - Once a decision is made to use PCP, the
most cost-effective PCP system needs to be selected. Typically, the PCP systems to be used by an
agency are preapproved based on submittal of shop drawings and construction of trial installations.
These systems include proprietary as well as nonproprietary systems. In addition, the selected system
needs to be designed to accommodate project-specific requirements.
4. Precast pavement fabrication - The fabrication process for PCP systems is based on decades of well-
established practices for precast concrete systems and is regulated by industry standards that result in
durable concrete and durable structural components. The precast pavement panel fabrication process is
typically a routine process and may incorporate specific details related to the following:
a) Provisions for load transfer along panel sides that form the transverse joints and for tiebars along
panel sides that form the longitudinal sides.
b) Provisions for pre-tensioning of the panels.
c) Provisions to allow for later posttensioning a series of connected panels.
d) Provisions to allow for undersealing of the panels. e. Provisions for surface texture as required by
the specifying agency.
5. Precast pavement installation - The installation of precast pavement includes the removal of the
existing pavement, reestablishing the base, providing for bedding material over the base as necessary,
and installing the panels. Depending on the specific PCP system used, additional considerations
include provisions for load transfer at transverse joints, connectivity along longitudinal joints,
establishing expansion joints, and accommodating posttensioning operations.
6. Precast pavement acceptance testing - As the PCP technology is of recent origin, procedures for
acceptance of PCP are not well established. Acceptance testing typically includes standard testing for
concrete quality at the precast plants and smoothness testing of the completed work. Testing is not
routinely performed to validate the installed load transfer system at transverse joints, to evaluate the
readiness of the base/bedding support, or to measure the effectiveness of prestressing in precast
prestressed concrete pavement (PPCP) systems.

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