EIGHT YEARS OF PULSE VELOCITY TESTS ON CONCRETE PAVEMENTS IN KANSAS

FOR THE PAST EIGHT YEARS THE KANSAS HIGHWAY COMMISSION HAS BEEN INVESTIGATING THE CHANGES IN PULSE VELOCITY WHICH OCCUR WITH CHANGES IN CONCRETE QUALITY. A SONISCOPE, AS DEVELOPED BY THE HYDRO ELECTRIC POWER COMMISSION OF ONTARIO, CANADA, AND THE PORTLAND CEMENT ASSOCIATION, HAS BEEN USED FOR MAKING THESE TESTS. PULSE VELOCITY TESTS HAVE BEEN MADE REGULARLY ON EIGHT EXPERIMENTAL PAVEMENTS WHICH HAVE BEEN CONSTRUCTED IN KANSAS. EACH OF THESE TEST ROADS ARE MADE UP OF A NUMBER OF TEST SECTIONS WHICH CONTAIN CONCRETE OF VARYING COMPOSITION. ONE SUCH TEST ROAD NEAR MCPHERSON, KANSAS, IS MADE UP OF 60 TEST SECTIONS WHICH CONTAIN FIVE DIFFERENT BRANDS OF CEMENT ALONG WITH SEVERAL POZZOLANIC ADDITIVES. TEST SECTIONS IN THE OTHER EXPERIMENTAL PAVEMENTS CONTAIN CONCRETE WHICH IN SOME CASES IS AIR-ENTRAINED. OTHER VARIABLES INCLUDED IN THESE TEST SECTIONS ARE COARSE AND FINE GROUND CEMENT, DIFFERENT TYPES OF AGGREGATE, AND DIFFERENT METHODS OF CURING. THE REGULAR TESTS ON THESE SEVERAL TEST PAVEMENTS HAVE BEEN MADE IN AN EFFORT TO ESTABLISH A NON-DESTRUCTIVE METHOD FOR STUDYING CHANGES IN CONCRETE QUALITY WHICH MAY NOT BE APPARENT UPON VISUAL INSPECTION. ALONG WITH THE REGULAR VELOCITY TESTS MADE ON CONCRETE PAVEMENTS, PULSE VELOCITY DETERMINATIONS WERE ALSO MADE PERIODICALLY ON TEST BEAMS CONTAINING CONCRETE COMPARABLE TO THAT FOUND IN THE SEVERAL PAVEMENT TEST SECTIONS. THESE TEST SPEICMENS WERE THEN LOADED IN FLEXURE TO FAILURE SO THAT THE MODULUS OF RUPTURE COULD BE CALCULATED. THESE VELOCITY TESTS WERE THEN COMPARED WITH THE FLEXURAL STRENGTHS TO SEE IF CHANGES IN VELOCITY COULD BE ASSOCIATED WITH CHANGES IN MODULUS OF RUPTURE. AFTER STUDYING THE RESULTS OF THE LARGE NUMBER OF TESTS, SEVERAL OBSERVATIONS CAN BE MADE. FOR THE TESTS MADE ON KANSAS HIGHWAY PAVEMENTS, VISUAL EVIDENCE OF DETERIORATION IS OBVIOUS BEFORE THIS CONDITION IS REFLECTED IN A SIGNIFICANT CHANGE IN PULSE VELOCITY. SEASONAL CHANGES IN PULSE VELOCITY TEND TO OBSCURE VELOCITY TRENDS WHICH OTHERWISE MIGHT BE SIGNIFICANT. ALTHOUGH A SMALL CHANGE IN PULSE VELOCITY IS OFTEN ASSOCIATED WITH A LARGE CHANGE IN FLEXURAL STRENGTH, NO GOOD RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE TWO IS APPARENT AT THIS TIME. /AUTHOR/

• Record URL:
  • http://onlinepubs.trb.org/Onlinepubs/hrbbulletin/206/206-004.pdf
• Supplemental Notes:
  • No 206, pp 31-36, 3 FIG, 2 TAB, 6 REF Distribution, posting, or copying of this PDF is strictly prohibited without written permission of the Transportation Research Board of the National Academy of Sciences. Unless otherwise indicated, all materials in this PDF are copyrighted by the National Academy of Sciences. Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved
• Authors:
  • Meyer, Richard C
• Publication Date: 1959

Media Info

• Monograph Title: Effects of concrete characteristics on the pulse velocity
• Serial:
  • Highway Research Board Bulletin
  • Issue Number: 206
  • Publisher: Highway Research Board

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Air entrained concrete; Beams; Cement; Coarse aggregates; Concrete; Concrete curing; Concrete pavements; Durability; Flexural strength; Modulus of rupture; Nondestructive tests; Pozzolan; Pulses; Seasons; Test sections; Velocity measurement
• Uncontrolled Terms: Concrete beams; Pulse velocity tests; Seasonal variations
• Old TRIS Terms: Soniscope
• Subject Areas: Highways; Materials; Pavements;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00213237
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS, TRB
• Created Date: Sep 12 1994 12:00AM