May  2010  

Selection and use of concrete overlays

Michael E. Ayers and Dale Harrington

Interest in concrete overlays as a cost effective pavement restoration technique has grown significantly in the past decade. Innovations in design, materials and placement techniques, as well as greater focus on economic and environmental impact, has resulted in a wider variety of concrete overlay options.



















An illustrative life-cycle cost analysis of concrete roads in Mumbai

S. Govindarajan

Roads are the arteries of any city. Unless they are in healthy condition, the city cannot function properly. If the road network is not good, it will lead to traffic snarls, rise in motorists' tempers and waste of national wealth. Therefore any city to have a healthy living should have a good network of roads. The roads should not be often dug up and left with only potholes. This paper highlights benefits of cement concrete roads and presents a life-cycle cost analysis based on experience of working in Mumbai city.



















Long life concrete pavement practices

Shiraz Tayabji

Concrete pavements are widely used in the United States for a range of applications, from lightly loaded streets and parking lots to heavily trafficked highway and airport pavements. Over 50% of the US interstate highway system was originally constructed using concrete pavements and concrete pavements continue to be the choice for heavy truck traffic highways and high volume urban highways. Concrete pavements are typically referred to as the safer, smoother, and longer-lasting pavements. And now, with the emphasis on sustainable construction practices, concrete pavements are playing an even critical role meeting the infrastructure needs in the United States. The emphasis on sustainable construction is of recent origin. However, as resources diminish globally and the environment comes under increasing stress, the adoption of sustainable design and construction practices is a necessary strategy to ensure that we meet our current needs responsibly. In the US, sustainability related considerations are being introduced at the design and engineering phase, in material selection, during construction, while in service, and ultimately at the end of the pavement's life.



















Concrete roads in Mumbai

Shridhar V. Joshi, Avinash Rao and Vishal R. Thombare

The Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM) is responsible for road network of about 1941 km in the city of Mumbai including roads in the Eastern and Western Suburbs. However, this data excludes the two Express highways namely Eastern and Western expressways passing through the city. These expressways are maintained by the local Public Works Department (PWD). While majority of the roads in the city are bituminous, Mumbai leads other cities in the country with large percentage of road constructed in concrete. Concrete roads or rigid pavements constituted only about 5% of the total road lengths in Mumbai in 1989. Today more than 24 % of the city's roads are concrete roads. Mr. S.V. Joshi, Former Chief Engineer (Roads, Bridges and Traffic), MCGM and his colleagures present the case study of Mumbai's concrete road projects.



















Use of industrial byproducts and recycled materials in concrete structures - An engineer's perspective

Satish Desai

During the period after 1945, cements have become progressively more reactive and it has become possible to develop higher compressive strengths and to reach the required strength with lower cement content. Mix design techniques have been developed to produce concrete with compact microstructure, e.g. grading and aggregate packing. It has also been recognised that there is a limit on the availability of natural aggregate and minerals used for making cement, and it is necessary to reduce energy consumption and emission of carbon dioxide resulting from construction processes. Solutions to this problem are sought through usage of recycled concrete aggregates and industrial by-products as partial replacement of Portland Cement. However, it is important for an engineer to ensure that use of any construction materials does not adversely influence safety, quality and durability of concrete structures. This paper examines the merits of using such alternative materials and various issues related to the influence of these materials on performance of concrete.



















A case study of shrinkage and other cracks in pavement quality concrete

A.K. Pandey

Concrete pavements have a larger maintenance free life if properly designed and constructed. With the experience of constructing approximately 1500 km of two or 3 lane new concrete roads for the Golden Quadrilateral (GQ) Projects of National Highway Development Programme (NHDP), Indian contractors have achieved an average laying speed of 300 meters (2 lane road with 9 meter widths and 0.3 meter depth involving approximately 810 cum of concrete) in a day. Extensive use of modern machinery such as pavers and batching plants for the first time in India made this possible. As pavements have a much larger surface area compared to other structural members such as beams and columns, they are prone to shrinkage induced cracking. Therefore, during their initial stages of construction, suitable measures are taken to protect them against damages from premature surface drying, which may lead to large plastic shrinkage cracks and from thermal stress development due to temperature differentials across the section. However, despite taking standard quality control measures, cracks may develop and potholes may appear after opening the road to traffic. This paper presents a case study of shrinkage and other cracks prevention measures in concrete pavements and describes repairs undertaken in two major construction projects in which the author was associated.



















Experiences of constructing concrete roads in Surat

Rohit J. Madhwani

The city of Surat is known for its textile trade, diamond cutting and polishing industries. It is located on western part of India in South Gujarat and lies at a bend of the River Tapi, where its course swerves suddenly from the northeast to southwest.