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Quantifying the Whole Life Benefit of

Preserving Concrete Pavements Using Silicon
Reactive Lithium Densifier and...

Conference Paper · January 2012

DOI: 10.3850/978-981-08-7920-4_I-4-0093

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Gransberg, D.D., and D.M. Pittenger, “Quantifying the Whole Life Benefit of Preserving
Concrete Pavements Using Lithium Densifier and Shotblasting – A Promising New Technology,”
First Australasia and South East Asia Structural Engineering and Construction Conference
(ASEA-SEC-1) Perth, Australia, November 2012, pp.
QUANTIFYING THE WHOLE LIFE BENEFIT OF PRESERVING
CONCRETE PAVEMENTS USING SILICON REACTIVE LITHIUM
DENSIFIER AND SHOTBLASTING – A PROMISING NEW TECHNOLOGY

Douglas D. Gransberg1 and Dominique M. Pittenger2

1 Department of Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering, Iowa State University, Ames, USA
E-mail: dgran@iastate.edu
2 Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Oklahoma, Norman, USA

E-mail: dominiquep@ou.edu

This paper explores the use of lithium based concrete densifier applied over shotblasting as a
concrete pavement preservation treatment for locations that are subject to wear due to studded
tires, snow chains and snow plowing. The lithium-based treatment was initially developed for
anti-scaling and wear resistance properties on concrete pavements to preserve, densify and
harden the cement matrix by reacting with the free lime calcium hydroxide to form an insoluble
bond calcium silicate hydrate. This study combines laboratory and field tests in California,
Delaware, Oklahoma, and Washington, which found that shotblasting the pavement surface
and then treating it with the concrete densifier reduces wear/rutting due to abrasion and
maintains safe skid numbers for periods of up to 3 years. A stochastic life cycle cost analysis
shows this treatment to be a cost effective pavement preservation tool to extend the life of
concrete pavements on roads prone to rutting caused by studded snow tires and snow chains. It
also finds that the treatment retards the loss of microtexture from aggregate polishing. Finally,
the paper does an analysis of the environmental footprint of this form of concrete pavement
preservation as compared to current treatment options and finds that the use of lithium based
concrete densifier applied over shotblasting is a highly sustainable option for the preservation
of concrete pavements in urban areas with significant volumes of traffic.

Keywords: Concrete, Pavement, Preservation, Shotblasting, Lithium, Skid resistance, Life cycle
cost, Sustainability.

1. Introduction completed on asphalt pavement preserva-

When the US Federal Highway Admin-
istration approved federal-aid highway
funding in 1998 for pavement preservation
projects (Federal, 1998), research to develop
and field pavement preservation treat-
ments markedly increased by both pub-
lic agencies and commercial entities in the
highway pavement sector. This momentum
was increased by the general increase in
public interest in sustainability (Uhlmann,
2010). Keeping good roads good is the
fundamental principle of pavement preser-
vation and the practice is inherently sus-
tainable because by definition preservation
consumes less virgin material and energy
than pavement rehabilitation or replace-
ment (Chehovits and Galehouse, 2010).
There has been a large body of research
tion (Federal, 1998; Berg et al., 2009). That
is not the case, however, in ‘concrete pave-
ment preservation where the research has
largely been limited to the topics of crack
sealing, joint filling, grinding, etc. (Federal,
1998). Fundamental research in this area
remains to be accomplished (Moulthrop,
2003).
This paper’s objective is to synthesize the
results of four studies of a lithium-based
concrete surface treatment to harden the
surface against abrasion and demonstrate
the treatment’s value for Portland cement
concrete pavement (PCCP) preservation as
well as its ability to extend the pavement’s
service life in a highly sustainable fash-
ion. Loss of skid resistance on structurally
sound PCCP requires some form of reac-
tive maintenance to restore the surface to

Research, Development, and Practice in Structural Engineering and Construction

Edited by Vanissorn Vimonsatit, Amarjit Singh, and Siamak Yazdani
Copyright  c 2013 by Research Publishing Services :: www.rpsonline.com.sg
ISBN: 978-981-08-7920-4 :: doi: 10.3850/978-981-08-7920-4 I-4˙0093 383
384 Vanissorn Vimonsatit, Amarjit Singh, and Siamak Yazdani (Eds.)
a safe driving condition (Bennett, 2007).
Skid resistance is lost by aggregate micro-
texture loss due to polishing and degra-
dation of the transverse geometry due to
rutting which results in water being
retained in the ruts. Both are caused by
abrasion. Snowy mountain highways are
particularly at risk to abrasion from snow
plowing and rutting due to snow chains
and studded tires. Abrasion-related dis-
tresses are unavoidable to ensure safe pas-
sage of traffic during the winter. Hence,
developing a pavement preservation tool
to extend PCCP service life is especially
important for roading agencies that main-
tain major northern highways (Haworth,
2011).
2. Fundamentals of Concrete
Densification
The chemical process of “densification”
involves a reaction between the concrete
and a hardening agent and makes the
surface texture denser, and as a result,
harder, than untreated concrete. Lithium
silicate has proven itself to be a reliable
agent to harden the surface of Portland
cement concrete (Nasvik, 2008). The chemi-
cal has long been used to harden industrial
concrete floors where low speed vehicu-
lar traffic is present. The calcium hydrox-
ide produced by cement hydration reacts
with the lithium and produces calcium sil-
icate hydrate, the same product produced
by water and Portland cement that results
in Portland cement concrete’s strength and
hardness. The calcium hydroxide is dis-
solved in the water during hydration and
migrates to the surface starting the lithium
silicate reaction. The newly formed cal-
cium silicate hydrate is deposited in the
pores and voids on the concrete’s surface.
The lithium “stabilizes and solubilizes the
silicate so it can remain in solution until
it penetrates the concrete and then can
react with the abundant calcium hydroxide
found in the concrete” (Nasvik, 2008).
Using lithium silicate rather than less
expensive hardening agents accrues two
benefits. First, it forms a dust rather than a
crust after it dries Also, when the lithium
silicate penetrates the concrete’s pores, it
reacts with calcium hydroxide to create
the chemical hardening and densifying that
increases the concrete’s surface strength
and resistance to wear from traffic abra-
sion. It makes the PCCP more polish and
rut resistant. The reaction is optimized
because the surface porosity promotes pen-
etration of the hardening agent, deepening
the hardened surface (Nasvik, 2008).
3. Research Methodology
This study synthesizes the results of four
studies involving the use of the same
lithium concrete densifier applied over
shotblasting on PCCP highway projects.
An Oklahoma Department of Transporta-
tion (ODOT) study measured macrotex-
ture and skid numbers over 3 years on
PCCP test sections on State Highway 77,
(average daily traffic = 14,000 vehicles
per day). The project included a PCCP
test section that had been shotblasted and
treated with lithium concrete densifier as
well as shotblasted sections with no treat-
ment. Monthly measurements were con-
ducted to construct deterioration models
to estimate PCCP preservation treatment
service lives (Pittenger et al., 2012). The
Oklahoma results (Table 1) demonstrate the
treatment’s ability to retard loss of skid
resistance due to aggregate polishing as
the SB section lost friction at a rate of
3.7%/year and DOS only lost it at a rate
of 2.1%/year. The test sections also expe-
rienced snow plowing 2 or 3 times each
year. The second study, sponsored by the
California DOT (Caltrans), measured PCCP
wear over 12 months on a test section on
Interstate Highway 80 (I-80) over Donner
Pass in the Sierra Mountains. The test site
was subjected to abrasion due to snow
plowing and snow chains/studded tires
(Haworth, 2011). In addition to measuring
change in wheel path rut depth, it also
measured test section skid numbers.
 Research, Development, and Practice in Structural Engineering and Construction 385

Table 1. Applicable Study Results. 3.2. Technical Effectiveness Analysis

Oklahoma Results California Results Surface treatments have not been widely
Rut @ used on PCCP due to concerns about the
SN @ SN @ 12 mo SN@ impact of the treatment on skid resistance
Surface Start 34 mo Surface (mm) 12 mo (Riemer et al., 2010). Specifications for the
SB 54 48 SB 5.29 42 use of curing compounds and sealants
DOS 48 45 DOS 2.12 45 on bridge decks often require shotblasting
Delaware Results Washington Results after final curing to restore surface micro-
% LR @ 6 Rut @ 60 texture to a safe level of friction. Initially,
Surface mo Surface mo concrete floor hardeners were developed
Control 20% WT-3 9.0 with an aesthetic to produce a “shiny” sur-
DG 12% WT-4 8.0 face (Nasvik, 2008), which reduces surface
SB 81% WT-5 8.1 friction and limited their use to areas with
DG + SB 32%
low speed traffic. Therefore, the preser-
DG – diamond grind; SN – skid number; SB – shotblast;
%LR – percent lithium used in treatment that was found
vation of PCCPs by hardening their sur-
in core samples; DOS – densifier over shotblast; WT-X – face to make them rut and polish resistant
whitetopping X inches thick; mo – month and extend service life cannot be achieved
while sacrificing safety.
The third study shown in Table 1 Since safety is an absolute requirement,
was conducted by the Delaware DOT the skid number changes identified in the
and sought to determine the efficacy of ODOT and Caltrans studies are of primary
diamond grinding and shotblasting for interest. Table 1 shows that the ODOT SB
enhancing the penetration of the lithium sections lost 11% of their surface friction
silicate densifier. The field test site had in nearly 3 years while the DOS section
7 different surface conditions: two only only lost 6.25%. The Caltrans study found
treated with the densifier, two were shot- the relative difference after 12 months was
blasted with densifier; two that were shot- about the same. The SN was above 25, a
blasted and, diamond ground then treated commonly used failure criterion (Pittenger
with densifier and the last was only dia- et al., 2012), in both studies. Therefore it can
mond ground with densifier. Core samples be concluded that the DOS treatment can
taken after approximately 6 months were be applied without a deleterious effect on
used to measure densifier penetration. The
surface friction as measured by SN.
final study was conducted by the Wash-
Next, the Delaware DOT results show
ington State DOT (WSDOT) and evaluated
that shotblasting results in the deepest
the wear resistance of both asphalt and
penetration of the three surface prepa-
concrete pavements. It is used to provide
ration methods, demonstrating the bene-
benchmarking data for untreated PCCP
fit accrued for DOS sections, which are
and rational failure criteria for the life cycle
inferred from the data to have a deeper
cost analysis (LCCA).
hardened surface than the other options.
The inference is confirmed by the Cal-
3.1. Analysis Approach trans 12-month rut measurements show-
The approach taken in this paper is to ing the SB section to have lost more than
leverage the previously published research twice the amount of surface material in the
through synthesis and analysis. The Table 1 wheel paths than the DOS sections. The
information is used to provide input to an Caltrans research oversight engineer com-
analysis of technical effectiveness as well as mented that “in general the treated [DOS]
a stochastic LCCA for financial viability. It areas appeared to have about half the wear
is also used to establish relative quantities of untreated [SB] section” (Haworth, 2011).
for the environmental footprint analysis. The WSDOT study used a failure criterion
386 Vanissorn Vimonsatit, Amarjit Singh, and Siamak Yazdani (Eds.)
for rutting of 10 mm and tested three differ-
ent thicknesses of PCC overlays (WT) for 5
years. These sections were not treated and
hence act as a baseline for untreated WT
(Anderson et al., 2009). The Table 1 SN data
and the rutting data lead to the conclusions
that DOS is safe for an extended period of
time and retards the rate of deterioration
due to polishing and abrasion.
3.3. Stochastic Life Cycle Analysis
This study uses the FHWA (1993) LCCA
model as modified by Pittenger et al.
(2012) to evaluate two alternatives that best
describe the potential for PCCP using DOS.
The following list describes the scenario
used in the calculations of equivalent uni-
form annual cost (EUAC).
• The road is one lane mile (1.6 km) of I-
80 in Donner’s Pass,
• California, which has an average daily
traffic of 20,000. Both
• alternatives begin with an initial cost
for a 12” (305 mm)
• full-depth replacement (FDR).
• The pavement preservation options are:
– Whitetop the pavement when
ruts reach a failure depth of 10
millimeters.
– Finish the new pavement with DOS
Anderson et al. (2009) found that it takes
from 6 to 9 years for PCCP to develop ruts
10 mm deep. The same report shows the
predicted service life for a WT4 of 6.3 to
7.1 years. The Caltrans study found that
using DOS reduced wear by more than
50%. Based on these and other facts found
in the literature, the following assumptions
are made to support the calculation:
1. The service life of a new PCCP sub-
jected to snow chain/studded tire
wear will be seven years.
2. The service life of the same new PCCP
will be 14 years if DOS is applied
before.
3. Every seven years a WT4 alone or a
WT4 plus DOS will be installed to cor-
rect rutting.
4. All other maintenance costs associ-
ated with the road are equal in all of
the alternatives.
5. A discount rate of three percent will
be used per FHWA (1993).
6. Work zone user costs during the
installation of the WT4 and the WT4
with DOS are computed using the
method for a rural freeway with an
ADT of 20,000 proposed by Zhu et al.
(2009).
3.4. Sustainability Analysis
Life cycle analysis (LCA) is used to quan-
tify environmental impact of pavement
treatments and should include all process
stages such as transport, refining, manufac-
turing, mixing and placement (Chehovits
and Galehouse, 2010). This study uses LCA
to determine relative environmental impact
of two alternatives being considered to fill
ruts in a concrete pavement: microsurfac-
ing and DOS.
Microsurfacing contains polymer-
modified asphalt emulsion, graded
aggregates, mineral filler, water and other
additives. It is then placed on a continu-
ous basis while simultaneously mixing the
materials in a pug mill, which results in a
free flowing composite material that is dis-
charged into a spreader box and spread on
the underlying pavement (Berg et al., 2009).
For a Type III (12% Emulsion, 24 lb/SY
(13 kg/SM)), energy use has been calcu-
lated to be 5,130 BTU/SY (6.5 MJ/SM)
and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to
be 0.6 lb/SY (0.3 kg/SM) (Chehovits and
Galehouse, 2010). Expected service life is
around six to seven years (Berg et al.,
2009).
The environmental impact of DOS was
not found in literature. The analysis used
the following information:
• The service life is seven years on the
CALTRANS data.
 Research, Development, and Practice in Structural Engineering and Construction 387

• The transport values are 1,250 Table 2. Life Cycle Cost Analysis Input Values.
BTU/ton-mile (0.9 MJ/km-tonne) with Minimum Mean Maximum
0.2 lb CO2 /ton-mile (0.06 kg CO2 /km- $/lane- $/lane- $/lane-
tonne) of product based upon 245 miles Alternative mile mile mile
(395 km) (Chehovits and Galehouse, 12” FDR $1,198,000 $1,198,000 $1,198,000
2010). Water was assumed to be avail- 12” FDR + DOS $1,218,242 $1,233,766 $1,240,240
able in close proximity to installation WT4 $76,032 $172,972 $475,200
WT4 + DOS $96,274 $208,738 $517,440
site.
• The manufacturing values for den-
sifier are 2,298 BTU/lb of product Table 3. Stochastic Life Cycle Cost Analysis
(5.344 MJ/kg of product) for energy Output.
useage and GHG emissions of 132 Minimum Mean Maximum
lb CO2 /ton of product (60 kg/tonne) EUAC EUAC EUAC
(European Commission, 2007). Alternative $/lane-mile $/lane-mile $/lane-mile
• The application rate is 400–500 12” FDR+WT4 $69,090 $89,420 $125,432
SF/gallon (12–15 SM/liter) with 12” FDR+WT4 $59,755 $75,444 $89,035
85–95% water content (Convergent, +DOS
2012).
• Installation values for Shotblasting Monte Carlo simulation necessary to con-
assume energy usage similar to sur- duct the stochastic LCCA. The input vari-
face milling with 10,317 BTU/ton ables shown in Table 2 were modeled as
(12 MJ/tonne). It also includes 0.543 having stochastic values, and each was
tons of CO2 produced per lane-mile assigned a triangular probability distribu-
(0.49 tonnes/SM) (Rippman, 2012). tion using the minimum, maximum and
• Installation values for densifier mean values shown in Table 2. 100,000
solution are based upon a light truck iterations of the simulation were run, and
with distribution-sprayer arms the resulting LCC are shown in Table 3.
54.5 BTU/vehicle-mile and 400 g of One can see that the WT4 option’s LCC
CO2 /vehicle-mile (EPA, 2007). at maximum value should be expected to
exceed the DOS option’s LCC in most all
projects. The mean cost of WT4 shows that
4. Life Cycle Cost Analysis Results
one should expect to exceed the maximum
LCCA uses “minimize estimated life cycle probable value of the DOS option’s LCC in
costs” as the decision criterion to compare one in two projects.
alternatives. Thus, the economic dynamics
of each alternative must be fully under-
stood. Unit prices for each alternative were 5. Sustainability Analysis Results
taken from 2012 CALTRANS bid tabula- LCA uses “minimize estimated life cycle
tions. The unit prices were then extended environmental impact” as the decision cri-
to calculate a cost per lane-mile assuming terion to compare alternatives. Table 4
a standard 12-foot (3.7 meter) lane. Table 2 shows the LCA output values for each
shows the values used for the various cost alternative. The LCA reveals that the DOS
components to the LCCA model. One can
see that the DOS adds to the cost of each Table 4. Life Cycle Analysis Output.
treatment. Thus, the LCCA is warranted
to determine if the service life extension Energy Use GHG Emissions
gained by this method is cost effective. Alternative BTU/SY MJ/SM lb/SY kg/SM
A life cycle cost model was developed
DOS 470 0.6 0.2 0.1
using and a commercial simulation soft- Microsurfacing 5,130 6.5 0.6 0.3
ware package was used to perform the
 388 Vanissorn Vimonsatit, Amarjit Singh, and Siamak Yazdani (Eds.)
treatment consumes one tenth of the energy
consumed by microsurfacing and produces
two thirds less emissions.
6. Conclusions
The results of the above set of analyses sup-
port the following conclusions:
• DOS is a technically viable PCCP
preservation treatment since it does not
negatively impact surface friction and
as shown in Oklahoma DOS retards
polishing.
• DOS is a cost effective alternative
because the service life extension due
retarding the deterioration due to abra-
sion/rutting results in an EUAC that is
18% less than untreated WT4
• Using DOS to harden PCCP against rut-
ting is a more sustainable alternative
than filling the ruts with microsurfac-
ing because it requires less energy to
produce and install and creates fewer
emissions, reducing the overall impact
on environment.
The study finds the use of DOS to be
a promising PCCP preservation treatment.
Its ability to more than double the service
life of untreated PCCP compensates for
the marginal increase in construction costs.
Additionally, its ability to maintain safe
skid numbers while reducing energy con-
sumption and user costs lead the authors
to recommend its use on all PCCP projects
regardless of the climate in which the road
is sited.
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