1. Construction and Performance Evaluation of Roller Compacted Concrete under Accelerated Pavement Testing
TRB Paper No:
Moinul Mahdi
Zhong Wu, PhD., P.E.
Tyson Rupnow, PhD., P.E.
Jan 14, 2015
TRB Annual Meeting

2. Outline Background Objectives Construction and Instrumentation
Accelerated Loading on RCC Pavement Sections
Summary and Conclusion 2

3. Project Details
Six full-scale, RCC-surfaced pavement test sections were constructed at the PRF of LTRC
Each section: 71.7-ft long and 13-ft wide
Sections 1-3: Design alternative for those low-volume roads having significantly heavy truck traffic
Sections 4-6: Design alternative for high-volume roads using a treated subgrade layer 3

4. Project Details [cont.]
The final design gradation and corresponding RCC mix quantities used in this study were designed at the LTRC’s concrete research lab.
Mix Quantities
Max Dry Density (pcf)
146.0
Max Wet Density (pcf)
155.5
Optimum % Moisture
6.5
Coarse Aggregate Absorption %
0.2
Fine Aggregate Absorption %
2.1
% Cemetitious
11.4
% Cement
%Fly Ash
0.0
Target Coarse Aggregate %
45.0
Target Fine Aggregate %
55.0
You can get more details about the mix design in the paper.
We use a ….. For cement application
Cement contents for base layer were determined by DOTD TR 432 to achieve 7-day UCS of 150 or 300 psi.
6% cement by volume was used for sections 1-3 (cement treated base)
8% cement by volume was used for sections 4-6 (soil cement)
4% cement by volume was used for treated subgrade 4

5. In Situ Testing Results during the Construction of RCC Sections

6. In Situ Testing during the Construction
Field Testing Methods
FWD/LFWD
Surface roughness/walking profiler
RCC Surface Texture & Friction
Sand patch and dynamic friction tester
Proval was used to convert the walking profiler to IRI 6

7. FWD Backcalculated Layer Moduli
8”RCC+12CT
6”RCC+12CT
4”RCC+12CT
Section 1
Section 2
Section 3
8”RCC+8.5SC
6”RCC+8.5SC
4”RCC+8.5SC
The RCC modulus of sec 4-6 is higher than sec 1-3 and comply with the field core laboratory results
The base modulus of soil cement was also high
The subgrade modulus was high due to 10in. Treated subgrade
Section 4
Section 5
Section 6

8. Surface Roughness, Friction & Texture
Section
IRI (in/mile)
Section 1
359.5
Section 2
469.7
Section 3
622.7
Section 4
190.1
Section 5
122.2
Section 6
167.5
Average
322
Rougher surface due to paving speed and coarser gradation
High Surface Roughness due to Paving Speed, Paver type, Manufactured sand and Coarser Aggregate Gradation
Similar to Superpave mixes on surface friction and macrotexture

9. Accelerated Pavement Testing - ATLaS30
Dual-tire load, 130 psi
Bi-directional loading
Load: up to 30 kips
Effective length: 42-ft
Speed: 3~6 mph
About 10,000 passes/day 9

10. Cracking and Pumping (8 in. RCC)
After 53,000 repetitions of 25-kip load, Section 4 developed both transverse and longitudinal cracking;
Joint pumping also observed under heavily raining weather, > 3 in. rainfall overnight

11. Results and Discussion (8 in. RCC)
The estimated ESALs based on AASHTO method ≈ 10.9 million
Based on Miner’s Cumulative fatigue damage law:
-the total damage > 100% when MR=600 psi
-the total damage ≈ 41% when MR=800 psi
Whether or not this should be considered as the test section failure is under further investigation
Our field MR was 667 psi
Currently observing the Crack Propagation, Joint Faulting, IRI and any major visual distress to identify failure.

12. The Current Conditions of RCC Sections
Section 5 (6 in. RCC)
No distress was observed
Approximately 12.1 million ESALs
Further testing will be performed till failure.
Section 6 (4 in. RCC)
Several cracks, pumping and spalling was observed
Approximately 19.0 million ESALs
IRI values went up to in/mile from in/mile

13. The Current Conditions of RCC SectionsCL
20’
20’
Longitudinal Crack Length: 2’- 5”
Transverse Crack Length: 2’ - 8”
8”RCC
15’ CL
15’
15’
15’
6”RCC
No Cracks
10’
10’
10’ CL
10’
10’
10’
4”RCC
Several Cracks are Observed

15. Summary and Conclusion
The failure criteria of RCC pavements under APT loading need further investigation;
As of now the tested RCC sections had performed better than expected;
Both RCC-Pave and PCC fatigue models did not seem to fit for the prediction of fatigue damage of this sections;
A new fatigue damage model is expected to be developed in this study for thin RCC-surfaced pavement.

16. Thank you! Moinul Mahdi mmahdi2@lsu.edu 225-614-887416