EFFECTS OF VARIOUS SEALING SYSTEMS ON PORTLAND CEMENT CONCRETE JOINTS

THE PURPOSE WAS TO INVESTIGATE WHETHER THE USE OF NEOPRENE COMPRESSION SEALS INCREASED THE LIFE OF JOINTS WITH A CORRESPONDING INCREASE IN THE LIFE OF THE STRUCTURE. IN ORDER TO EVALUATE THE JOINT CONDITIONS AFTER YEARS OF EXPOSURE, FIVE PROJECTS WERE LOCATED WHICH HAD ADJACENT PROJECTS THAT WERE STRUCTURALLY THE SAME BUT USED DIFFERENT JOINT SEALANTS. JOINTS SEALED WITH NEOPRENE WERE COMPARED WITH THOSE SEALED WITH HOT-POURED ASPHALT, COAL-TAR EPOXY, POLYSULFIDE AND LIQUID SEALANTS. THE RESULTS SHOW THAT NEOPRENE SEALS, BY KEEPING INCOMPRESSIBLE MATERIALS AND LIQUIDS THAT CARRY FINE DEBRIS AND SILT FROM THE PLANE-OF- WEAKNESS CRACKS, CAN PREVENT FUNCTIONAL DAMAGE TO JOINTS AND THEREBY EXTEND THE LIFE OF A STRUCTURE. IN THE FIVE STATES SURVEYED IN THIS REPORT, THE JOINTS SEALED WITH NEOPRENE WERE IN BETTER OVERALL CONDITION THAN THOSE SEALED WITH OTHER SYSTEMS. MINNESOTA RESEARCH ENGINEERS STATED THAT 98 TO 99 PERCENT OF THEIR PROBLEMS WITH JOINTS HAVE BEEN ELIMINATED SINCE THEY STARTED TO USE NEOPRENE SEALS. NO BLOWUPS HAVE OCCURRED IN THE NEOPRENE-SEALED SECTIONS OF PAVEMENT UNDER STUDY; HOWEVER, BLOWUPS HAVE OCCURRED IN THE ADJACENT SECTIONS. THE JOINTS IN CALIFORNIA THAT CONTAINED NO SEALANT OF ANY TYPE ARE NOW AT LEAST TWICE THEIR ORIGINAL WIDTH. UNSEALED AND LIQUID-SEALED JOINTS SHOWED CONSIDERABLE DEGRADATION AND DAMAGE THROUGH THE INFILTRATION OF INCOMPRESSIBLE MATERIAL INTO THE JOINTS. AFTER 6 OR 7 YEARS OF SERVICE, REPAIR OR REHABILITATION OF THE JOINTS WOULD BE IMPOSSIBLE BECAUSE OF THE INFILTRATION OF INCOMPRESSIBLE MATERIAL INTO THE PLANE-OF-WEAKNESS CRACKS. FURTHER DAMAGE MIGHT BE STOPPED BY ADEQUATE SEALING. A SURVEY SHOULD BE MADE IN 2 TO 3 YEARS TO DETERMINE THE EXTENT OF THE DAMAGE TO THE SLABS. SLAB DAMAGE IS CURRENTLY MINIMAL WITH ALL SYSTEMS.

• Record URL:
  • http://onlinepubs.trb.org/Onlinepubs/hrr/1972/389/389-005.pdf
• Supplemental Notes:
  • Sponsored by Committee on Sealants and Fillers for Joints and Cracks. 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:
  • Brown, Delmont D
• Publication Date: 1972

Media Info

• Media Type: Digital/other
• Features: Figures;
• Pagination: pp 28-39
• Monograph Title: Concrete pavement construction and joint sealants
• Serial:
  • Highway Research Record
  • Issue Number: 389
  • Publisher: Highway Research Board

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Coal tars; Compression; Joint sealers; Joint sealing; Neoprene; Portland cement concrete; Sealing compounds
• Subject Areas: Highways; Pavements;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00207467
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS, TRB
• Created Date: Sep 19 1972 12:00AM