Rigid Pavement Distresses

and Maintenance

Dr. E Fungo
Department of Transportation and Geotechnical Engineering

University of Dar es Salaam

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Identifying Distresses Includes:

• Name
• Severity
• Amount/Extent

“Rate what you see and not what you think.”

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 Fatigue Cracking
• Description
 Cracks which form a network/series
of interconnecting blocks
resembling the skin of an
alligator/crocodile
• Possible causes
 Insufficient strength
 End of pavement life
 Too heavy loads
• Remedial Measures
 Full depth repair (if localized)
 Reconstruction 3
 Pumping
• Description
 Pumping is the phenomenon of
ejection of water and subgrade (or
base) material through the joints and
cracks or at the pavement edge due to
deflection of pavement slab under
loading, when the free water
accumulates underneath the slab
 Problem
• Decreased structural support of the
slab, which can lead to linear cracking,
corner breaks and faulting.

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 Pumping Cont…
• Possible causes
 Water accumulation underneath the
slab. This can be caused by such
things as: a high water table, poor
drainage, and panel cracks or poor
joint seals that allow water to infiltrate
the underlying material.
• Remedial measures
 The repair starts with full depth repair
of the affected slab, followed by use
of load transfer device (dowel bar) for
effective load transfer across
transverse joints created after repair
 Under sealing 5
• Description
Faulting
 A difference in elevation across a
joint or crack
 Faulting may be longitudinal or
transverse
 Noticeable if its average value
reaches 2.5 mm
• Possible causes
 Pumping effects
 Slab curling and warping
 Slab Settlement
•

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 Faulting
•Remedial measures
 Diamond grinding if faulting is
not more than 4mm
 Full-Depth Repair if faulting
exceeds 4mm

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 Spalling
• Description
 Breaking or chipping of the
edges of cracks, joints and
edges of the pavement
• Causes
 Excessive stresses at joints,
cracks and edges, caused by
infiltration of incompressible
materials
 Improper insertion,
misalignment and corrosion of
dowel bar
 Weak PCC at a joint 8
 Spalling Cont..
• Remedial measures
 Partial-depth repair for shallow
spalling
 Full-depth repair for deep
spalling

 Problem
Loose debris on the
pavement, roughness, generally an
indicator of advanced joint/crack
deterioration

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 Shrinkage cracking
• Description
 Formation of hairline cracks during
setting and hardening of pavement
concrete at places away from the
joints
• Possible causes
 Late sawing of contraction joint
 Poor design of reinforcement
 Improper curing where the surface of
the slab is allowed to dry quickly
 Use of high early-strength cement or
admixtures that give high heat of
hydration
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 Shrinkage cracking Cont…
• Remedial measures
 Shrinkage cracks can be treated by
means of crack sealants if they are of
moderate size
 Entire slab replacement (full-depth
repair) for severe situations

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Aggregates with polished surfaces
• Description
 Aggregates which protrude out of
cement paste with less angularity and
roughness
• Possible causes
 Low abrasion value of aggregates
• Remedial measures
 Diamond grinding or an overlay is the
solution to the problem of polished
aggregates in rigid pavements

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Punchout
• Description
 Breaking of small portion of concrete
slab into several pieces
• Possible causes
 Localized construction defect such as
improper compaction is the primary
cause of punchout in plain cement
concrete pavements
 Corrosion and inadequacy of steel
are the key factors for the punchout
failure in continuously reinforced
pavements
 Excessive width and closeness of
shrinkage cracks
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Punchout Cont…
• Remedial measures
 Punchout problems are addressed by
full-depth patch

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Failure of Joint Load Transfer System
• Description
 Failure of load transfer system at
joints is characterized by transverse
crack or corner break
• Causes
 Corrosion and misalignment of dowel
bars
• Remedial measures
 Full-depth patch at the affected area
after replacement of the failed joint
load transfer system

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Linear cracking
• Description
 Linear cracks divide the individual
slabs into more than two parts and
extend across the entire slab
 It is also known as panel cracking
• Causes
 Heavy traffic
 Temperature gradient
 Curling of slabs
 Loss of soil support

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Linear cracking
• Remedial measures
 Crack sealant can be used to seal
linear cracking, if not too wide
 If too wide, then the pavement is
restored by full-depth repair

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Corner break
• Description
 A crack that intersects the joint of the
pavement near the corner of the slab
(within 200 mm)
• Causes
 High corner stresses
 Loss of soil support
 Curling and warping stresses
• Remedial measures
 Full-depth repair is the solution to
refurbish the pavement that suffers
corner break

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Blow-ups
• Description
 Localized upward movement of the
pavement surface at the transverse
joints or cracks. Usually occurs as a
result of insufficient room for slab
expansion during hot weather
• Causes
 Openings become filled with
incompressible material (such as
rocks or soil), subsequent PCC slab
expansion during hot periods may
cause high compressive stresses. If
these stresses are great enough, the
slabs may buckle to relieve the
stresses 19
 Blow-ups

• Remedial measures
 Full-depth repair is the only alternative to rehabilitate the
pavements which suffer damage due to blow-ups

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