Best Practices for Airport Portland Cement Concrete Pavement

159 Pages·2003·1.86 MB·English

IPRF
An Research Report
Innovative Pavement Research Foundation
Airport Concrete Pavement Technology Program

Best Practices for Airport
Report IPRF-01-G-002-1
Portland Cement Concrete
Pavement Construction
(Rigid Airport Pavement)

Programs Management Office
1010 Massachusetts Avenue, N.W.
Suite 200
Washington, DC 20001 April 2003

ACPA Document No. JP007P
IPRF
An Research Report
Innovative Pavement Research Foundation
Airport Concrete Pavement Technology Program

Best Practices for Airport
Report IPRF-01-G-002-1
Portland Cement Concrete
Pavement Construction
(Rigid Airport Pavement)

Principal Investigators

Dr. Starr D. Kohn, P.E., Soil and Materials Engineers, Inc.
Dr. Shiraz Tayabji, P.E., Construction Technology Laboratories, Inc.

Contributing Authors

Mr. Paul Okamoto, P.E.
Dr. Ray Rollings, P.E.
Dr. Rachel Detwiller, P.E.
Dr. Rohan Perera, P.E.
Dr. Ernest Barenberg, P.E.
Dr. John Anderson, P.E.
Ms. Marie Torres
Mr. Hassan Barzegar, P.E.
Dr. Marshall Thompson, P.E.
Mr. John Naughton, P.E.

Programs Management Office
1010 Massachusetts Avenue, N.W.
Suite 200
Washington, DC 20001 April 2003
This report has been prepared by the Innovative Pavement Research Foundation (IPRF) under
the Airport Concrete Pavement Technology Program. Funding is provided by the Federal
Aviation Administration (FAA) under Cooperative Agreement Number 01-G-002. Dr. Satish
Agrawal is the Manager of the FAA Airport Technology R&D Branch and the Technical
Manager of the Cooperative Agreement. Mr. Jim Lafrenz is the IPRF Cooperative Agreement
Program Manager.

The IPRF and the FAA thank the Technical Panel that willingly gave of their expertise and time
for the development of this report. They were responsible for the oversight and the technical
direction. The names of those individuals on the Technical Panel follow.

Mr. Terry Ruhl, P.E. CH2M Hill
Mr. Gary Fuselier Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority
Mr. Gary Fick Duit Construction Company, Inc.
Mr. Jeffrey Rapol FAA Project Technical Advisor

The contents of this report reflect the views of the authors, who are responsible for the facts and
the accuracy of the data presented within. The contents do not necessarily reflect the official
views and policies of the Federal Aviation Administration. This report does not constitute a
standard, specification, or regulation.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The manual was prepared by the following project team members:

Principal Investigators

Dr. Starr D. Kohn, P.E., Soil and Materials Engineers, Inc.
Dr. Shiraz Tayabji, P.E., Construction Technology Laboratories, Inc.

Contributing Authors

Mr. Paul Okamoto, P.E.
Dr. Ray Rollings, P.E.
Dr. Rachel Detwiller, P.E.
Dr. Rohan Perera, P.E.
Dr. Ernest Barenberg, P.E.
Dr. John Anderson, P.E.
Ms. Marie Torres
Mr. Hassan Barzegar, P.E.
Dr. Marshall Thompson, P.E.
Mr. John Naughton, P.E.

The project team would like to acknowledge the contributions of the following:

• Mr. Terry Sherman, Mr. Gene Gutierrez and Mr. Richard Donovan, U.S. Army Corps
of Engineers, who provided valuable feedback at various stages in the development of
the manual.
• The staff of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, Memphis-Shelby
County Airport Authority and Wayne County Department of Public Services who
provided their time and arranged site visits and meetings with contractors, material
suppliers and testing personnel.
• The staff of the following paving contractors and equipment suppliers:
o Interstate Highway Construction, Inc., Englewood, Colorado
o Ajax Paving Industries, Inc., Madison Heights, Michigan
o Gunthert & Zimmerman Construction Division, Inc., Ripon, California
o Gomaco Corporation, Ida Grove, Iowa.

The project team would also like to acknowledge that the manual incorporates the collective
experience of a broad range of experts who have, over the years, contributed so much to the
developments in airport concrete pavement construction technology. As a result of their
contributions, which have produced long lasting concrete pavements, the United States enjoys
one of the best aviation systems in the world.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page

IPRF/FAA PREFACE ....................................................................................................................i

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ...........................................................................................................ii

NOTES FOR THE READER........................................................................................................ix

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ............................................................................................................x

1. INTRODUCTION ..............................................................................................................1

1.1 Purpose.....................................................................................................................1
1.2 Scope ......................................................................................................................2
1.3 Disclaimer................................................................................................................2
1.4 Quality in Constructed Projects...............................................................................2

2. CONSIDERATION OF DESIGN ISSUES.........................................................................4

2.1 Introduction..............................................................................................................4
2.2 Construction Variability...........................................................................................7
2.3 Summary..................................................................................................................7

3. PRE-CONSTRUCTION ACTIVITIES...............................................................................9

3.1 Construction Specification Issues............................................................................9

3.1.1 Civil (Private Sector) Construction Specifications......................................9
3.1.2 Military Construction Specifications.........................................................10

3.2 Planning Construction Logistics............................................................................10
3.3 Fast Track Construction and Opening Pavement to Traffic..................................11

3.3.1 Opening Pavement to Traffic.....................................................................11

3.4 Pre-Bid Meetings...................................................................................................13
3.5 Pre-Award Meetings..............................................................................................14
3.6 Pre-Construction Meetings....................................................................................14
3.7 Qualifying Construction Materials........................................................................15

3.7.1 Evaluation of Local Aggregates.................................................................15
3.7.2 Availability and Certification of Cementitious Materials..........................18
3.7.3 Availability and Certification of Admixtures & Curing Compounds........21

3.8 Specifying Project QMP/CQC Requirements........................................................23

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3.8.1 Basic QMP/CQC Definitions.....................................................................24
3.8.2 General Issues............................................................................................24
3.8.3 Quality Management Plan..........................................................................25
3.8.4 Contractor QC versus Agency QA (or Acceptance) Testing
Responsibilities..........................................................................................26

3.9 Test Strip Construction..........................................................................................26

3.9.1 Test Strip Details........................................................................................27
3.9.2 Test Strip Acceptance................................................................................31
3.9.3 Consideration of Changes in Contractor and QMP/CQC Operations.......31

4. GRADE PREPARATION.................................................................................................32

4.1 Introduction............................................................................................................32
4.2 Grading and Compacting Subgrade.......................................................................32

4.2.1 Pre-Grading Activities...............................................................................32
4.2.2 Removal of Unsuitable Subgrade..............................................................33
4.2.3 Protection of Grade....................................................................................33
4.2.4 Grading Operations....................................................................................33
4.2.5 Compaction Requirements.........................................................................34

4.3 Subgrade Stabilization...........................................................................................36

4.3.1 Lime Stabilization......................................................................................36
4.3.2 Cement Stabilization..................................................................................38
4.3.3 Contingencies for Localized Areas............................................................38

4.4 Proof-Rolling.........................................................................................................39
4.5 Acceptance of Grade..............................................................................................39
4.6 Protection of Grade................................................................................................39
4.7 Adverse Weather Conditions.................................................................................40
4.8 Troubleshooting Guide..........................................................................................40

5. BASE AND SUBBASE CONSTRUCTION.....................................................................41

5.1 Introduction............................................................................................................41
5.2 Subbase Course......................................................................................................41
5.3 Mechanically Stabilized Base Course....................................................................42
5.4 Chemically Stabilized Bases..................................................................................42

5.4.1 Cement Treated Base.................................................................................43
5.4.2 Lean Concrete (Econocrete)......................................................................44
5.4.3 Asphalt Treated Base.................................................................................45

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5.5 Drainage Layers.....................................................................................................46
5.6 Stabilized Base Issues............................................................................................46
5.7 Troubleshooting Guide..........................................................................................47

6. GETTING READY FOR CONCRETE PAVING............................................................48

6.1 Grade Acceptance..................................................................................................48
6.2 Concrete Plant Operation.......................................................................................49

6.2.1 Managing the Aggregate Stockpile............................................................50
6.2.2 Concrete Uniformity Testing.....................................................................51

6.3 Paving Equipment Issues.......................................................................................52
6.4 Stringline Issues.....................................................................................................52

7. CONCRETE MIXTURE...................................................................................................54

7.1 Introduction............................................................................................................54

7.1.1 Concrete Mixture Requirements................................................................55
7.1.2 Laboratory Mixture Design Process..........................................................56

7.2 Concrete Mixture Design Issues............................................................................57

7.2.1 Workability................................................................................................57
7.2.2 Strength......................................................................................................58
7.2.3 Sulfate Resistance......................................................................................59
7.2.4 Air Entrainment.........................................................................................60

7.3 Blended Cements and Supplementary Cementitious Materials.............................60
7.4 Materials Incompatibility.......................................................................................62
7.5 Aggregate Requirements........................................................................................63

7.5.1 Aggregate Grading.....................................................................................63
7.5.2 The Case of Slag Aggregates.....................................................................65
7.5.3 The Case of Recycled Concrete Aggregates..............................................65

7.6 Field Adjustments of Concrete Mixture Design....................................................65
7.7 Troubleshooting Guide..........................................................................................67

8. CONCRETE PLACEMENT, FINISHING, TEXTURING, AND CURING....................68

8.1 Introduction............................................................................................................68
8.2 Concrete Delivery at the Site.................................................................................70
8.3 Concrete Placement...............................................................................................71
8.4 Embedded Steel and Tie-Bar Placement................................................................72

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8.5 Dowel Bar Installation...........................................................................................73

8.5.1 Dowel Bars at Construction Joints.............................................................75

8.6 Concrete Consolidation..........................................................................................76
8.7 Concrete Finishing.................................................................................................78
8.8 Concrete Texturing................................................................................................79
8.9 Concrete Grooving.................................................................................................80
8.10 Concrete Curing.....................................................................................................81
8.11 Minimizing Edge Slump........................................................................................82
8.12 Fixed Form Paving.................................................................................................82
8.13 Paving and In-Pavement Structures.......................................................................85
8.14 Paving at Flexible Pavement Interfaces.................................................................85
8.15 Hot-Weather Concrete Placement..........................................................................86
8.16 Cold-Weather Concrete Placement........................................................................88
8.17 Protecting Concrete Against Rain Damage...........................................................90
8.18 Troubleshooting Guide..........................................................................................92

9. JOINT SAWING AND SEALING....................................................................................96

9.1 Joint Layout Issues.................................................................................................96
9.2 Timing of Joint Sawing........................................................................................100
9.3 Joint Sawing Operation........................................................................................103
9.4 Joint Cleaning Prior to Sealing............................................................................106
9.5 Joint Sealing Issues..............................................................................................107

9.5.1 Hot-Poured Joint Sealing Material...........................................................108
9.5.2 Cold-Poured Joint Sealing Material.........................................................108
9.5.3 Preformed Joint Sealer.............................................................................109

9.6 Troubleshooting Guide........................................................................................110

10. IMPLEMENTING QMP/CQC REQUIREMENTS........................................................111

10.1 QMP/CQC Testing and Production Plans............................................................111
10.2 Control Charts......................................................................................................112
10.3 Testing Process....................................................................................................113

10.3.1 Subgrade, Subbase, and Base Testing......................................................113
10.3.2 Fresh Concrete Testing............................................................................114
10.3.3 Thickness Testing....................................................................................115
10.3.4 Aggregate Tests (Gradation and Moisture Content)................................116
10.3.5 Strength Testing.......................................................................................117
10.3.6 Edge Slump, Joint Face Deformation, and Profile Testing and
Tolerances................................................................................................120
10.3.7 Dowel Bar Alignment and Inspection......................................................122

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11. REPAIR OF EARLY AGE DISTRESS..........................................................................123

11.1 Plastic Shrinkage Cracking..................................................................................123
11.2 Edge Slump..........................................................................................................124
11.3 Joint Spalling.......................................................................................................125
11.4 Full Depth Cracking.............................................................................................125

BIBLIOGRAPHY........................................................................................................................127

INFORMATION CONTACTS/WEBSITES...............................................................................128

APPENDICES

A – Test Standards Referred to in the Manual.................................................................130
B – Preconstruction Review Checklist............................................................................133
C – Inspection and Testing Checklist..............................................................................136
D – Joint Sawing Checklist..............................................................................................140
E – Decision Tree for Early Age Cracking......................................................................141

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LIST OF TABLES

Table Page

3.1 List of items from FAA’s AC: 150/5370-10A...........................................................10
3.2 Changes to project activities to shorten concrete pavement construction time.........12
9.1 Recommended maximum joint spacing on aggregate (granular) base......................98

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure Page

4.1 Typical moisture-density curves showing the effect of moisture content
on density...................................................................................................................35
6.1 Common concrete plant layout..................................................................................49
6.2 Working the aggregate stockpile...............................................................................51
6.3 An excessively high stockpile....................................................................................51
7.1 Aggregate workability factor.....................................................................................64
8.1 Typical bridge deck paving operation........................................................................69
8.2 A typical fillet construction operation.......................................................................69
8.3 Concrete placement ahead of paver...........................................................................72
8.4 Dowel bar installation along a longitudinal construction joint..................................76
8.5 Vibrator layout and position......................................................................................77
8.6 Honeycombed concrete..............................................................................................77
8.7 Output from a smart vibrator system showing the frequency of each vibrator.........78
8.8 Finishing operations...................................................................................................79
8.9 Blockout method........................................................................................................83
8.10 Split can coring technique..........................................................................................84
8.11 Rate of evaporation as affected by ambient conditions.............................................88
9.1 Airport concrete pavement joint types.......................................................................97
9.2 Typical joint spacing for pavements on stabilized bases...........................................99
9.3 Joint sawing window of opportunity..........................................................................101
9.4 Slab surface temperature at early age........................................................................101
9.5 Maturity meter testing................................................................................................103
9.6 Joint sealant reservoir design options for airport concrete pavements......................104
10.1 Example control charts..............................................................................................112
10.2 Field laboratory for beam fabrication and curing......................................................118
10.3 Measuring edge slump...............................................................................................120
10.4 Profilograph testing in progress.................................................................................121
11.1 Plastic shrinkage cracking..........................................................................................123
11.2 Shallow spalling due to improper edge slump repair.................................................124

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