The use of concrete for road pavements in Italy is still relegated to few applications, especially for those situations where a significant bearing capacity as well as high mechanical characteristics are required. On the contrary, bituminous binders are widely employed for such pavement structures for which excellent performances from the standpoint of smoothness and both drainage and noise reduction are expected. As a matter of fact, this research tried to study a porous concrete wearing course which would guarantee a good behaviour from the point of viewof rainfall water drainage, the outstanding mechanical performances of rigid pavements being in any case not jeopardised. Therefore, the authors made an effort in verifying how, for concrete pavements, both micro and macro texture could be manipulated, starting from the mix design, in order to achieve the above mentioned superficial characteristics. For this purpose, different measurements were performed on several self-made laboratory porous concrete pavements assessing micro and macro roughness of the surface, and the results were compared to the outcomes of similar structural elements made of stone mastic asphalt SMA, and of draining flexible pavements; furthermore, porosity and permeability of the new material were investigated also. Last but not least, as a porous concrete could tend to crumble because of the reduced compactness of the matrix, compared to ordinary concrete, the mechanical properties of such structural elements were assessed also. In particular, compressive strength and impact resistance tests were performed on some porous concrete, plain concrete and SMA specimens, so that any decrease or increase in the performances could be monitored. The outcomes were impressive, and they gave the proof of the fact that both knowledge and techniques on concrete pavements matters are increasing more and more, most of the prejudices about these structural elements being now anachronistic; the more researchers get into this matter, the higher the safety for users, and the large use of concrete pavement structures in many foreign countries is the evidence of the outstanding performances of this material.

Superficial characteristics and mechanical strength assessment of a wearing course made of new porous concrete

AGOSTINACCHIO, Michele;
2004-01-01

Abstract

The use of concrete for road pavements in Italy is still relegated to few applications, especially for those situations where a significant bearing capacity as well as high mechanical characteristics are required. On the contrary, bituminous binders are widely employed for such pavement structures for which excellent performances from the standpoint of smoothness and both drainage and noise reduction are expected. As a matter of fact, this research tried to study a porous concrete wearing course which would guarantee a good behaviour from the point of viewof rainfall water drainage, the outstanding mechanical performances of rigid pavements being in any case not jeopardised. Therefore, the authors made an effort in verifying how, for concrete pavements, both micro and macro texture could be manipulated, starting from the mix design, in order to achieve the above mentioned superficial characteristics. For this purpose, different measurements were performed on several self-made laboratory porous concrete pavements assessing micro and macro roughness of the surface, and the results were compared to the outcomes of similar structural elements made of stone mastic asphalt SMA, and of draining flexible pavements; furthermore, porosity and permeability of the new material were investigated also. Last but not least, as a porous concrete could tend to crumble because of the reduced compactness of the matrix, compared to ordinary concrete, the mechanical properties of such structural elements were assessed also. In particular, compressive strength and impact resistance tests were performed on some porous concrete, plain concrete and SMA specimens, so that any decrease or increase in the performances could be monitored. The outcomes were impressive, and they gave the proof of the fact that both knowledge and techniques on concrete pavements matters are increasing more and more, most of the prejudices about these structural elements being now anachronistic; the more researchers get into this matter, the higher the safety for users, and the large use of concrete pavement structures in many foreign countries is the evidence of the outstanding performances of this material.
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11563/10179
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