Distress – Cement Concrete

Pavement
Features of old cement concrete roads in
India
• During early 20th century the road traffic mainly consisted of slow moving
vehicles with negligible number of automobiles, magnitudes of wheel loads
were very low.
• Concrete mix was not being designed based on strength criteria, CC mix
proportioned on the basis of volume
• Thickness of Pavements were in the range of 100-150mm, some of them
were laid directly over subgrade and others were laid over a thin granular
sub base course
• Generally constructed by manual methods as plain CC slabs, some cases
steel reinforcement was used in joints
• Most of the pavements served satisfactorily for 15-30 years
• As movement of heavy commercial vehicles started increasing on
important roads, different types of distresses and damages developed
in these old pavements
• The typical types of failures were
• Mud pumping
• Development of structural cracks at corner and edge regions
• Spalling of joints
• Scaling of concrete
Main features of modern CC pavements
• Pavements are laid over well prepared subgrade, effective drainage layer and a
lean cement concrete sub base course
• CC mix used is based on design strength criteria specifying minimum flexural and
compressive strength
• Generally M40 grade mix used and mix produced under controlled conditions in
ready mix plants
• Generally done for design life of 30 years
• Design thickness of CC pavement slab in important highways with heavy traffic is
generally in the range of 280-320 mm
• Load transfer dowel bars are designed and installed at all transverse joints such as
expansion and construction joints some times even contraction joints
• Tie bars in longitudinal joints
Distresses in CC pavements
• Mud pumping :
• Process of mud or soil slurry being ejected out through the joints and edges of CC
pavements during the movement of heavy vehicles
• Fine particles suspended in water in the form of mud gets ejected out through joints,
cracks and edges of pavement under heavy wheel loads
• Heavy wheel loads cause weak CC pavement slab to deflect or move down ward;
repeated pavement deflection due to heavy vehicle movement lead to permanent
deformation of the subgrade
• Thus little gap is formed between bottom of slab and subgrade and excess water
present in the subgrade could stagnate in this gap
• Further pavement deflections under heavy loads causes fine particles to be churned
and ejected out in the form of mud through the joints or the pavement edge,
resulting in the loss of soil particles and consequently gap under the pavement
increases further at a rapid rate
• Leads to progressive loss of subgrade support
• Finally pavement develops structural cracks and breaks down at these
locations
• Factors which could initiate mud pumping are
• CC pavement structure is weak resulting in high deflection of pavement slab
under heavy wheel loads
• CC pavement laid directly on the subgrade soil containing substantial
proportion of silt and clay
• Ineffective pavement drainage resulting in excess water content in the
subgrade soil or stagnation of water in the space gap under pavement slab
• Main cause of development of structural cracks in CC pavements is
inadequate thickness with respect to actual magnitude of wheel loads
pavement in sustaining the repeated application of heavy wheel loads
• The critical locations where cracks start developing are
• At the pavement edges, starting from the bottom of the slab and later
appearing at the top
• Near corners starting from the top
• It may be possible to prolong the life of weak pavements by laying
suitable overlay before development of such structural cracks
• Soon after mud pumping is noticed at any location, it is possible to
arrest further occurrence by resorting to appropriate remedial
measures
• First step: Improve subgrade drainage
• Second step: Gaps under slab are filled by pressure grouting of sand –cement
mix in the slurry form and this process is called mud jacking
• Holes of 30-50 mm diameter are drilled through CC pavement at a spacing of
1.5 to 3.0 m
• Sand cement slurry is grouted under high pressure through these holes until
the gaps under the slabs are filled up and cracked slab starts lifting up.
Development of Structural Cracks in CC
Pavement
• Structural cracks are formed near the edge and corner regions of CC
pavement due to combined wheel load and warping stresses in the
slab
• Formation of cracks in CC pavements is viewed seriously and
investigated for the cause
• Can be localised due to some weak spot in the subgrade or locallised
settlement of embankment or sub surface drainage problem
• Maintenance work in such case involves remedy of basic cause of
failure and recasting the failed slabs
Scaling and Ravelling of Cement Concrete
• Scaling of cement concrete occurs when a part of cement mortar
gets detached or peeled off from the CC pavement surface, exposing
coarse aggregates which results in rough surface
• Scaling is mainly attributed to the deficiency in the mix or presence of
some chemical impurities which may cause some damage to the mix
• If water –cement ratio is little higher than that required, during laying
and compaction by vibration, cement mortar with excess water
comes to the top in the form of slurry during construction
• Due to traffic movements and weathering action, cement mortar
gets abraded or detached, exposing the coarse aggregates of the mix.
This makes pavement surface rough and shabby in appearance
• Ravelling of cement concrete pavement surface occurs due to loss of
fine aggregates and hardened cement paste from the surface due to
abrasion, particularly when fine shrinkage cracks have developed on
the surface
• Ravelling also results in rough surface similar to scaling
• Scaling and ravelling are very common types of defects that have
developed in old CC pavements mainly because of the inferior quality
of cement concrete mix that used
• It is possible to rectify such rough surface by providing a thin layer of
suitable bituminous mix; however this affect the general appearance
of the concrete road surface.
• Spalling of joint : When preformed filler materials are placed at the
joints during casting of pavement slabs, at times placement may get
dislocated or filler board gets placed at an angle
• If the concreting is carried out without noticing this faulty alignment
of the filler material, joint develops cracks and may break up
• Part of the concrete may break or get chipped off from the edges at
such joints
• Rectification of such defects can be carried out with bituminous mixes
without much difficulty ; however as this may not last for long period
and therefore old material will have to be removed periodically and
replaced with new mix.
Distresses in modern CC Pavements

• Functional distresses and Structural distress

• Functional deterioration include
• surface un-eveness,
• scaling/ ravelling,
• spalling of joint,
• loss of sealant at joints
• Formation of shrinkage cracks
• Change in surface texture
• Structural distress include
• Development of structural cracks of depth more than half of the thickness of
slab
• Isolated failures in slabs due to settlement of embankment and subgrade
Functional Deterioration of CC pavements
• Surface unevenness or roughness
• Though the initial value UI value of new CC pavement may be below the
specified limit, may increase later on due to reasons such as settlement of
high embankments etc; this results formation of bumps, dips near the joints
of CC pavement slabs
• Surface evenness may be improved by diamond grinding to partial remove
the bumps; thin layer of concrete is removed from the surface by grinding
process
• Scaling and Ravelling
• Scaling is due to peeling off part of concrete surface to a depth of 5 to 15 mm
• Ravelling is due to loss of hardened cement mortar from the surface
• Ravelling also occurs if sawing of joints is done too early after concreting
• Causes for scaling and ravelling are
• Segregation of concrete mix at the surface
• Use of dirty or unclean aggregates
• Use of excess water in the mix at the location
• Use of excess fines in the mix
• Sawing of joints too early after concreting
• Improper curing
• Excessive abrasion caused on the surface by the movement of crawler mounted
machinery
• Area to be repaired are marked out rectangular shape including 50
mm extra around the affected area
• Partially disintegrated materials of the affected area are chiselled and
removed up to the affected depth
• The area is patched up using a suitable mix of polymer concrete or
bonded inlay
• if the depth is more than 25 mm, slab is removed and reconstructed
• Spalling of joints
• Spalling of joints occur due to cracking and breaking away part of concrete
near joints
• Common causes are
• Ingress of stone or grit in to the gap of expansion joints
• Failure or defects in load transfer dowel bar system or their placement at the joint
• Use of weaker concrete or improperly compacted concrete when work is stopped at the
construction joint
• If the affected width on either side of the joint is less than 20 mm and
affected length of spalled portion is less than 25% of joint length, epoxy resin
mortar is applied
• If the affected width and length exceed the above, partial depth repair is
carried out
• Loss of Joint Sealant
• Sealant at the joints is subjected to very harsh conditions and therefore
suffers distress over a period of time
• If there is loss of joint sealant or damaged, old sealant material is removed
• Joint groove is cleaned and joint is re sealed using appropriate type of sealant
• Polysulphide sealants are reported to perform well for 5-7 years
• Silcone sealants are reported to serve well for over 10 years
• Shrinkage of cracks
• Two types of shrinkage cracks are likely to develop in CC pavements
• Plastic Shrinkage cracks
• Drying shrinkage cracks
• Plastic shrinkage cracks develop due rapid drying of fresh concrete caused by
wind blowing at high speeds
• These cracks formed perpendicular to the direction of wind
• They are about 0.3 to 0.6 m in length and extend up to a depth of 20 to 30 mm
• Formation of shrinkage cracks can be prevented by taking suitable measures for curing
• These cracks are not viewed seriously as they do not pose any structural or functional
problem
• However cracks may be sealed using epoxy resin of low viscosity
• Drying shrinkage cracks
• Develop due to overall shrinking of CC mix during initial curing period which is
restrained by interface friction between bottom of CC slab and supporting layer or
separation membrane
• These shrinkage cracks start developing from the bottom of the slab and progress
upwards
• Random development of such shrinkage cracks may be prevented by properly
designing spacing of contraction joints and carrying out joint cutting within the
recommended period after laying the concrete
• These cracks may not always pose major structural or functional problems unless
crack width increases due to combined effect of heavy traffic and environmental
factors
• Once cracks appears on the top of surface of CC slab, desirable to resort to full depth
repair to prevent pavement deterioration
• Loss of Surface texture
• Loss of surface texture result in smoothening of the CC pavement slab which may become
slippery under wet conditions
• Probable causes are
• Poor texturing during construction
• Abrasion of surface due to wear and tear caused by heavy traffic movements under wet conditions or
when surface is covered by sand particles
• Movement of construction of traffic before concrete gains strength
• Road stretches with frequent braking or turning movements of fast vehicles
• Use of non durable materials in the concrete
• Surface texture may be measured in terms of mean texture depth by sand patch method or
frictional resistance / skid number using appropriate friction testing machine
• Surface texture may be restored by ‘diamond grinding’ or groove cutting of polished surface
• Grooves of 2.0 to 4.0 mm width and 1.5 mm depth are cut at about 5.0 to 6.0 mm intervals
in transverse or longitudinal direction diamond saw blades
Structural Distress in CC Pavements
• Structural cracks may be formed due to
• Excessive loading
• Inadequate thickness of pavement slab
• Spacing of joints is too long
• Delayed cutting/sawing of joints
• Unless structural cracks are effectively repaired, load carrying capacity
and service life of pavement will be adversely affected
Structural Evaluation of CC Pavements
• Carried out to assess the structural capacity of the pavement to
sustain future traffic
• Carried out by conducting following studies
• Visual inspection to identify the types of structural cracks and other defects
that have developed in the pavement structure and the joints
• Conducting deflection tests at identified locations including across the joints
to check the load transfer efficiency of the dowel bar system
• Conducting non destructive tests and by extracting core samples from CC
pavement slab and subjecting them to tests such as, compressive strength,
split tensile strength, modulus of elasticity, petrographic examination and
distress evaluation of materials
• Methods of Repairing Structural Cracks
• Crack stitching
• Partial depth repairs
• Full depth repairs
• Type of repair method depends on
• Weather cracks are isolated single crack or multiple cracks
• Location and direction of crack
• With and depth of cracks
• Crack Stitching Methods
• Crack stitching is done for repairing the cracks that are reasonably good
condition
• Crack stitching may be carried out either by ‘cross stitching’ method or by
‘stapling method’ using steel tie bars embedded at desired spacing
• Method of stapling
• Two parallel lines are drawn at a distance of about 230 mm on either side of
the crack
• Vertical holes of 30 mm diameter are drilled along these lines up to a depth of
half slab thickness at 600 mm spacing
• Slits of 30 mm width are cut using diamond sawing machine, connecting pair
of these vertical holes up to a depth of 50 mm less than half slab thickness
• Debris is removed from the slits and holes and they are cleaned
• U shaped stapling bars are made of high tensile deformed steel bars of
diameter 16 mm are inserted in the slits of 600 mm intervals
• Slits and holes are filled with epoxy mortar up to 10 mm above the top
surface of the stapling steel bars
• Remaining gaps of the slits are filled up to the top level of CC slab using non
shrinking concrete adequate strength
• Sides of the groove and the crack are filled with low viscosity epoxy
• Partial Depth Repairs
• Partial depth repairs are carried out to rectify defects limited to small areas
about 1.0 sqm and depth of less than 75 mm or up to a maximum of one
third slab thickness
• Partial depth repairs are considered suitable to repair
• Shallow spalling at joints which are otherwise sound
• Repair of cracks of shallow depth and
• Repair of pop-out or pot hole
• If partial depth repairs are carried out in large areas, they are likely to fail
after a period of time mainly due thermal in compatability between mixes
used for repairs and the original material in CC slab. In such cases it advisable
to resort to full depth repairs
• Before carrying out partial depth repair, area to be repaired is marked
suitable geometric shape and unsound concrete layer is removed by
chopping up to the affected depth, subjected to minimum of 50mm
• Loose materials are removed and area to be patched is cleaned
• Cleaned surface to be patched is thoroughly coated with bonding
agent
• Patching mix is prepared using weighed quantities of polymer binder
and aggregates in small drum mixer
• Mix is vibrated to release entrapped air and placed in the area to be
patched and compacted by tamping / by plate vibrator
• Partial depth repair may also be done up to a depth of 20mm using
epoxy mortar formulation
• In case of very shallow depth, affected portion is cleaned , light
chiselling is done to remove weak materials; surface is cleaned gain to
remove dust
• Epoxy resin tack coat is applied at the bottom and vertical faces and
the mortar is placed
• For depth exceeding 10 mm, unsound material is removed up to a
depth 20 mm using chisel and hammer and the process of cleaning,
application of tack coat and filling with epoxy mortar is carried out
• Repair of Pop outs / potholes
• The area to be patched is marked as a rectangle
• Using electrical chiselling machine , weak material around and at bottom is
removed up to desired depth d=30 to 50 mm from the surface of the slab
• Vertical hole of about 16 mm diameter is drilled at the centre of the area up
to a depth of 4d from the surface
• 12 mm diameter steel stud of length of about 3.5d is placed in the hole with
epoxy grout
• The prepared pot hole is filled up using non shrink type epoxy concrete mix,
so as to provide a 15 mm cover over top of the stud
• If larger area of pop out is to be patched , more number of steel studs may be
installed at a rate of one stud per 100 mmx 100 mm plan area of patch
• Full depth Repair is required in the following circumstances
• Structural cracks have developed along the joint due to failure of dowel bar
system
• Depth of structural crack has exceeded half of the slab thickness
• Full depth structural cracks have developed at the corner
• One part of CC pavement has developed multiple cracks or has got shattered
• Cross stitched longitudinal joint has failed again
• Partial depth repair has failed
• Full depth repair involves
• Total removal of affected portion of CC pavement slab up to the bottom and
replacement with fresh CC mix
• Area to be repaired is marked and the portion to be replaced with fresh CC mix
• Holes of diameter 2mm larger than the dowel bar are drilled for inserting dowel bars
or tie bars in the edge walls of remaining slab
• Dowel hole is cleaned with compressed air and epoxy anchoring material is fed in to
hole
• Reinforcement is placed at a depth of 75 mm below the top surface
• Ready mix concrete is poured in the prepared pit between the side forms or supports
• Concrete is compacted using vibratory
• Special care is taken while compacting around the dowel bars, around perimeter of
the patch and at the corners of slab
• Surface is finished using a vibratory screed and textured using wire brush
• Liquid curing compound is applied and curing is continued
• Similar procedure is followed for replacement of whole slab; in that case tie
bars are also to be installed along the longitudinal joints
General Causes of Distresses in CC pavements
• Defective drainage system may lead to failure such as mud pumping
• Use of non durable materials start deteriorating during weathering cycles
• Improper alignment of dowel bars may lead to stress concertation and
cracking near joints
• Structural adequacy of the pavement structure consisting of the cement
concrete pavement slab, subbase, subgrade with respect to actual loading
conditions to which pavement is subjected to
• Inadequate compaction of embankment, subgrade or settlement of
embankment foundation itself which could result in settlement of
supporting layers of the rigid pavement. These may lead to opening of
joints or even non uniform settlement of pavement slabs resulting in
deterioration riding quality