Performance of roller-compacted concrete pavement structure with stabilized soil base layers during spring thaw

Abstract

Roller-compacted concrete is a type of concrete with significantly larger fine aggregates comparing to conventional concrete. Larger fine aggregates percentage in roller-compacted concrete leads concrete mix to be non-slip and to be compacted by rollers. Roller-compacted concrete is cost-effective and easy to construct. Roller-compacted concrete can be paved by typical asphalt paver which simplifies the construction technology and makes it similar to asphalt paving technology. It also has the strength and performance of conventional concrete or even higher. Due to all the advantages, the use of roller-compacted pavement in industrial areas and low-volume rural roads is very beneficial. Some specially designed roller-compacted concrete structures with cement and special additives stabilized subgrade and or base layers showed very good performance in road. Few experimental tests were made measuring surface deflection with falling weight deflectometer (FWD). The main aim of these experimental tests is to collect deflection values from roller-compacted structure and to compare them between different seasons of the year. Such experimental tests also helps to learn more about this type of pavement structure and how it performs during spring thaw when the bearing capacity of the pavement structure is usually lower comparing to the other seasons. In these paper surface deflection measurements was conducted on local road No. 130 in Lithuania, which was reconstructed in 2021. The bearing capacity of the pavement structure was measured in August 2021 and March 2022. The results have showed that the bearing capacity of the pavement structure increased 9 months after reconstruction and that hydrothermal conditions do not affect the bearing capacity of RCC pavement structure with stabilized subbase and base layers.