8/20/2019 Concrete Roads: PQC, Methods of Construction and How it is Made

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Concrete Roads: PQC,

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Concrete Roads: PQC, Methods of Construction

and How it is Made!

Introduction to Concrete Roads:

Concrete roads fall under the category of high
quality/superior type of roads built with cement
concrete. These pavements may or may not be
provided with sub-base/base courses, and they may be
constructed directly over a well-compacted soil
subgrade. They derive their strength to support the
wheel-loads of traffic from their flexural strength and
are capable of bridging any weak spots in the layer
over which they are placed.

However, provision of a sub-base/base course under

cement concrete pavements will enhance their
performance significantly; thus a well-designed and
well-constructed cement concrete pavement is a rigid
pavement capable of providing trouble-free high quality
riding surface for high-volumes and heavy traffic loads
for as long as 30 to 50 years. Portland cement
concrete is well understood in its engineering
behaviour and hence, a concrete pavement can be
designed on a rational basis.

The primary drawback of this type of road is its high

initial cost, although its economic cost (initial cost plus
maintenance cost) over its design life is attractive.
Further, it calls for the highest level of quality control at
all stages – material selection, mix design, placement,
compaction, joint-provision and curing.

Pavement Quality Concrete (PQC):

Pavement Quality Concrete (PQC) is cement concrete
made with large size aggregates in accordance with

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IRC specifications and laid over a dry lean concrete

sub-base.

This construction is used specifically for highway

concrete pavements and for airport runway pavements
as it can take heavy loads.

Construction of Cement Concrete Roads:

The steps in the construction of cement concrete

roads are the following:

1. Preparation of subgrade/sub-base

2. Placing of formwork.

3. Batching of materials

4. Proportioning of the mix

5. Preparation of the mix

6. Transporting and laying the mix

7. Compaction

8. Joints

9. Screeding and finishing the surface

10. Curing

11. Opening of traffic

The relevant IRC Specifications are:

(a) IRC: 15-2002 (Third Revision): “Standard

Specifications and Code of Practice for Construction of
Concrete Roads”, IRC, New Delhi, 2002.

(b) IRC: 61-1976: “Guidelines for construction of

concrete pavements in hot weather”, IRC, New Delhi,
1976.

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(c) IRC: 91-1985: “Guidelines for construction of

concrete pavements in cold weather”, IRC, New Delhi,
1985.

Methods of Construction:
There are two distinct ways of construction of
cement concrete pavement:

(a) Alternate Bay Method:

In this method, the construction of cement concrete

pavement is taken up in alternate bays; the bays left in
the first instance are done after the concrete already
laid gets hardened adequately-one week in the case of
ordinary Portland cement and two to three days for
rapid hardening cement.

(b) Continuous Method:

In this method all the bays of one lane are laid

continuously; however, construction joints are provided
at the end of the day’s work.

Alternate bay method is said to have the following

advantages:

(i) Availability of more working space for laying a bay of

the slab.

(ii) Joint-provision is considered to be easy.

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(iii) The bay laid earlier can stand the adjacent bay laid
later.

However, the method also has the following

disadvantages:

(i) More number of transverse joints.

(ii) Rain water pooling in rainy season in the bays left to

be laid in the second stage.

(iii) Since no single lane is ready for traffic, the

diversion of traffic during construction is a disincentive.

(iv) Equipment has to be moved back and forth.

Although provision of joints involves more work in the

continuous method, this method is preferred because
traffic diversion needs are minimal.

Salient Features of IRC: 15-2002 (Third

Revision):
This code covers the requirements of fully mechanised
construction as well as partly mechanised and partly
labour-oriented techniques.

It deals with various aspects of cement concrete road

construction such as materials, proportioning,
measurement, handling and mixing, subgrade and sub-
base preparation, formation, joints, reinforcements,
concrete mix laying, finishing, curing, and plant and
equipment.

Materials:

Cement:

Ordinary Portland Cement, 43 Grade (IS: 8112) should

be preferred. If the soil around has sulphates in excess
of 0.5%, the cement should be sulphate-resistant.

Admixtures:

Admixtures conforming to IS: 6925 and IS: 9103 may

be used to improve workability of the concrete or to
extend setting time. If air-entraining admixture is used,

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the quantity of air-entraining agent shall be 5 ± 1.5

percent (for 25 mm nominal size aggregate) by volume
of the mix. This counters the freezing and thawing
effect, if any, and also improve the workability.

Aggregates:

IS: 383:1970-Specifications of coarse and fine

aggregates from natural sources for concrete, BIS-New
Delhi.

Coarse Aggregates:

Coarse aggregates shall consist of clean, hard, strong,

non-porous pieces of crushed stone/crushed gravel.
The maximum size shall not exceed 25 mm.
Continuously graded or gap-graded aggregates may
be used depending on the grading of the fine
aggregate.

Fine Aggregate:

Shall consist of clean natural sand and shall conform to

IS: 383. It shall be free from organic matter.

Water:

Shall be clean and meet the requirements stipulated in

IS: 456. Portable water is considered to be satisfactory
for mixing and curing.

Steel:

Shall conform to IS: 432, IS: 1139 and IS: 1786 as

relevant. Dowel bars shall conform to Grade S-240 and
tie bars to Grade S-425 of IS. If steel mesh is used, it
shall conform to IS: 1566. Steel shall be coated with
epoxy paint to prevent corrosion.

Proportioning of Concrete on the Basis of

Strength:

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The design should be based on the flexural strength of

concrete. The mix shall be designed in the laboratory
so as to ensure the minimum flexural strength on-field
with the permissible tolerance level. The mix shall be
designed in the laboratory for a marginally higher
strength that what is needed on-field.

To achieve the desired minimum flexural strength, S’,

known as the characteristic strength, the mix is
designed for a target strength, S, which is always
higher making due allowance for the extent of quality
control feasible in the field.

This relation is-

Ja-values for different tolerance levels are given

below:

In the absence of facilities for testing of beams for

flexural strength, the design may be based on
equivalent compressive strength values and the
following formula may be used –

The expected standard deviation values of

compressive strength are given in Table 8.28.

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For design of cement concrete mixes, guidance may

had from IRC: 44-2008: “Guidelines for Cement
Concrete Mix Design for Road Pavements, IRC, New
Delhi, 2008”, “IS: 10262-1982, Recommended
Guidelines for Concrete Mix Design, IRC, New Delhi,
1989”, and “IS: SP: 23 – Hand-book on Concrete
Mixes.”

The minimum cement corresponding to 4.5 MPa

flexural strength in the field at 28-days shall not be less
than 350 kg/m3 of concrete. (The upper limit is 425
kg/m3 of concrete).

Water-Cement Ratio:

The maximum water-cement ratio shall be 0.50.

Adjustments for workability shall be made by varying
the ratio of the coarse-to-fine aggregate or improving
their grading without change in cement content or
water-cement ratio.

Workability:

Slump 0-25 (low) and compacting factor 0.78 for

vibration by power operated machines. Lower slump
and higher compaction factor are needed for hand-
operated machines.

Tools, Equipment and Appliances:

These are specified separately for semi-mechanised

construction and for fully mechanised construction,
covering the different phases of work such as subgrade
and sub-base compaction, concreting and formwork,
concrete preparation, transportation, laying and
compaction of concrete, finishing, joints, curing, and
cleaning and sealing of joints. Wet-mix macadam lower
sub-base and dry lean concrete sub-base may also be

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provided over which the paving concrete may be laid

for producing a superior type of concrete road.

Weather Limitations:

Concreting shall not be done when the temperature is

below 5°C or below 30°C.

Forms:

Side forms shall be of mild steel channel sections.

Wooden forms are permitted only on curves with radii
less than 45 m.

Joints:

Expansion joints, Contraction joints, Warping or

Longitudinal joints are the three general types. In
addition, construction joints may be provided.

Fig. 8.11 shows sealing details of contraction joint

groove.

Fig. 8.12 shows the sealing details of a longitudinal

joint groove.

Fig. 8.13 shows the sealing details of expansion joint

groove.

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Construction:

The plant and equipment shall be planned in such a

way that the rate of paving is at least 60 m/hr.

Storage and Handling of Cement:

Large-capacity vertical silos are used for storage. In

the case of small projects involving manual or semi-
mechanised paving, cement in bags may be used.

Rapid hardening cement should not be stored for more

than three months.

Storage and Handling of Aggregates:

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Aggregate stockpiles should be made on leveled and

well drained ground adjacent to the carriageway.

Batching of Materials:

Batching of materials shall be by weight. The weight of

cement is to be taken as 1440 kg/m3. Water may be
measured by volume.

Batching Plant and Equipment for Fully

Mechanised Construction:

Fully mechanised construction needs the

following:

(i) Bins and hoppers

(ii) Automatic weighting devices

(iii) Mixers

(iv) Control cabin

Mixing:

Uniform mixing shall be achieved in the mixers.

Minimum speed of the drum shall not be less than 15
revolutions per minute. Minimum mixing time is 1½
minutes.

Hauling and Placing of Concrete:

Freshly mixed concrete from the plant shall be

transported to the site by trucks/tippers. The time
between preparation of the mix and final finishing by
the paver on site shall not exceed 100 to 120 minutes.

Placement of Steel:

Displacement of the reinforcement during concreting

operations shall be prevented. Dowels and tie bars
shall be provided as designed at the joints.

Fully Mechanised Construction:

A fixed form paver or a slip form paver is used to

spread, consolidate from the mould, screed and float-

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finish, and texture and cure the freshly laid concrete in

one complete pass of the machine. The paver shall be
equipped with electronic sensors to pave the slab to
the required thickness, camber and alignment in the
case of slip form pavers.

Dowels may be placed either by using a dowel bar

inserter (DBI) or by prefixing the dowels on steel chairs
on the sub-base. The DBI is normally fitted in the paver
finisher to achieve better progress of work.

The fixed form paving train shall consist of separate

powered machines which spread, compact and finish
the concrete in a continuous operation. This needs rails
on either side of road to move along the length.

The slip form paving train shall consist of a power

machine which spreads, compacts and finishes the
concrete in a continuous operation. The compaction is
done by internal vibration and shaping between the
side forms by either a conforming plate or by vibrating
and oscillating finishing beams. The slip form paver
has its own support rails, along with which it can move
longitudinally; it does not need fixed rails.

Surface Texture:

The surface of the slab shall be brush-textured in the

transverse direction.

Wire brushes are used for this purpose. The texture

depth is usually 1.00 ± 0.25 mm.

Some plant and equipment are considered essential

even in semi-mechanised and labour- oriented
construction.

A longitudinal float is used, operated from a foot-bridge

to smoothen the surface. For testing the trueness of
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the surface for the designed alignment, a 3-m straight

edge is used.

Curing of Concrete:

Curing may be done by spreading wet hessian over the

newly laid concrete and moistening it regularly. Curing
compound may also be used.

Removal of Forms:

Forms shall not be removed from freshly placed

concrete until it has set, or at least for 12 hours,
whichever is later. No damage shall occur to the edges
of the pavement. If any pointing of minor damage is
needed, it shall be done with 1:2 cement mortar (1
cement and 2 sand).

Sealing of Joint Grooves:

Sawing the small width of the groove initially provided

is necessary to widen it for proper filling with the
sealant.

Opening to Traffic:

Unless rapid hardening cement is used, the concrete

pavement shall be thrown open to traffic only after 28
days of curing. In case rapid hardening cement is used,
seven days of curing is adequate.

Quality Control:

At least two beam and two cube specimens, one for

testing after 7 days and the other after 28 days, shall
be cast on each day’s work. They shall be tested and
their appropriate tolerance limits checked.

Plant, Machinery and Equipment for Cement

Concrete Road Construction:

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The equipment necessary for the construction of

concrete roads range from large plants and machinery
to small pieces of equipment—for batching, mixing,
laying, finishing, surface texturing, curing and quality
control.

Concrete Mixer with Batching Device:

For batching by volume, boxes of known capacity are

used. Concrete mixer of at least 0.2 m3 capacity is
used. A mixer with a water-measuring device and
equipped with automated locking devise to control the
mixing period is preferred. For large jobs, batching and
mixing plants with automatic control devises are
employed.

Wheel Barrows:

These are small containers with two wheels, used for

hauling concrete for short distance; they are useful only
for small jobs.

Vibrating Screed:

This is usually a mild steel screed driven by vibrating

units mounted on it, travelling on forms at the sides of
the road.

Internal Vibrators:

These are driven by compressed air or electric power

and are part of fully mechanised construction.

Float:

A longitudinal float is made of wood and fitted with one

or two handles depending upon the width.

Straight Edge:

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This is used to check the surface of the slab in the

longitudinal direction. It is made of wood with MP plate
at the bottom, 3 m long, 10 cm wide, with two handles.

Belts:

Canvas belts are used for finishing the pavement

surface in manual method. This should be done before
the concrete hardens. The belt is 25 cm wide and has
extra length compacted to the width of the slab.
Handles are fitted at the ends.

Brush Brooms:

Brooms with fibre brushes are used to provide anti-skid

surface.

Miscellaneous Tools and Equipment:

Edging tools for rounding the edges at joints and the

longitudinal edges, spades, shovels, pans, and other
such miscellaneous items are also useful.

Fixed form Paver:

This is a type of equipment used for fully mechanised

construction. The fixed form paving train shall consist
of separate powered machines which spread, compact
and finish the concrete in a continuous operation.

The concrete is discharged without segregation into a

hopper of the spread, which is equipped with means of
controlling the rate of deposition on the base. The
spreader strikes off the concrete to the surcharge
adequate to ensure that a vibratory compactor
thoroughly compacts the layer. The final finisher shall
be able to finish the surface to the required level and
smoothness as specified.

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The fixed form paver works by moving on rails provided

at either edge of the pavement slab.

Slip form Paver:

The slip form paving train shall consist of a power

machine which spreads, compacts and finishes the
concrete in a continuous operation. The slip form
paving machine shall compact the concrete by internal
vibration and shape it between the side forms with
either a conforming plate or by vibrating and oscillating
finishing beams.

The deposited concrete shall be struck off to the

necessary average. Sensors are attached at the four
corners of the slip form paving machine to control the
level of the finishing beams and of the conforming
plate.

Slip form pavers will have vibrators attached to it. The

rate of construction shall desirably not be less than 60
m/hr. A schematic of a slip form paving train is shown
in Fig. 8.14.

Since a slip form paving train has its own tracks over
which it can move on either side of the road, there is no
need to have additional fixed tracks.

Pre-Stressed Concrete Pavement:

Pre-stressing technique has been applied to cement

concrete pavements for highways in the recent past. In
fact, it has been applied for airport runway pavements
more in view of the superior strength and load-bearing
capacity of pre-stressed concrete.

One great advantage of this type of pavement is that a

continuous length of 120 m of slab can be built without
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any joints using pre-stressed concrete; this leads to

better riding comfort and reduces the maintenance
cost.

The thickness of the slab also can be reduced

compared to a cement concrete slab, plain or
reinforced. A width of 3.6 m is a desirable, thus
necessitating a longitudinal joint. Minimum thickness of
150 mm is considered desirable.

A minimum of 22 kg/cm2 of pre-stress is recommended

in the longitudinal direction. Transverse pre-stress of
about 3 to 4 kg/cm2 is considered adequate.

The pre-stressing cables should be 7 mm in diameter

with ultimate tensile strength of 140- 170 kg/cm2.

The disadvantages cited are:

(i) It is a skilled job that needs a skilled work team.

(ii) Loss in pre-stress can occur due to subgrade

restraint.

(iii) Quality control is required to be of high order.

(iv) It is difficult to construct these pavements on

curves.

Pre-stressing may be either by pre-tensioning or post-

tensioning; the latter is preferred for highway
pavements.

Freyssinet or Gifford-Udall system may be used for

highway pavements.

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