Monitoring the Behaviour of Thin Reinforced Concrete Pavements through Accelerated Pavement Testing

The CSIR Built-Environment, in conjunction with the University of Pretoria in South Africa developed a low cost option for the upgrading of unsurfaced roads. The proposed solution is a thin layer of normal concrete reinforced with 5.6mm diameter steel with a mesh grid size of 200mm. This thin layer is placed on top of the existing unsurfaced road with minimal preparation to the existing road surface using labour-intensive construction methods. In order to determine the structural capacity of this type of overlay, full-scale Heavy Vehicle Simulator (HVS) tests were conducted. This paper summarizes the results from the accelerated pavement testing (APT) tests and is aimed at building confidence in the use of Ultra Thin-layer Reinforced Concrete Pavement (UTRCP), with cognizance being taken of the pavement structure, support conditions, construction, climate and traffic. APT testing has shown that this pavement type has exceptionally good performance if used on low volume roads such as residential streets but is sensitive to water damage. The UTRCP layer does not act as a proper structural layer and the importance of a well-constructed impervious base layer is highlighted in this study.

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