Evacuation of Narrow Transverse Contraction Joints in Jointed Plain Conrete Pavements

摘要

This report presents the results of a research project conducted at the Louisiana Transportation Research Center (LTRC) to evaluate the performance of narrow transverse contraction joints to control cracking in jointed plain concrete pavements. In addition, the report also evaluated the early entry dry saw cutting method in crack control of jointed plain concrete pavements. Five test sections were established during the construction of a jointed plain concrete pavement on Northline Road in Port Allen, Louisiana. The first test section is 1200-ft long in which standard transverse contraction joints were created using the conventional wet double saw cut method. This sections joints were sealed. The second section is also 1200-ft long in which narrow transverse contraction joints were created using the early entry dry cut method. This sections joints were not sealed. The other test sections were 1000-ft long each in which the narrow joints were established using the conventional wet cutting method. The joints of the third test section were left unsealed, while the joints of the fourth test section were sealed without the installation of a backer rod and the joints of the fifth test section were sealed with the installation of a backer rod. Silicone was used to seal the joints in the test sections where sealing was performed. The test sections were monitored after construction for evaluation of the performance of narrow contraction joints and the development of random and controlled cracking along the investigated joint types. The monitoring program consisted of visual surveys to observe the cracking development, measurements of joint dimensions, pavement and joint distress surveys, evaluation of ride quality across the test sections, measurements of joint load transfer, and the tirepavement noise measurements. Evaluation of the effectiveness of both joint types (standard and narrow) in controlling the random cracking in concrete pavements is presented.