Evaluating the Effects of Concrete Pavement Curling and Warping on Ride Quality

Construction of a jointed concrete pavement on US 34 near Greeley, Colorado in 2012 led to an investigation of slab curling and warping that appeared to be contributing to undesirable levels of pavement roughness. Specifically, the westbound lanes that were constructed in July appeared to exhibit significantly higher roughness than the eastbound lanes that were constructed in September. Furthermore, smoothness testing by the contractor at three different times of the day on one of the westbound lanes revealed significant differences in roughness values depending on the time of day. In response, Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) initiated the investigation under this study to determine the effects of slab curling and warping on ride quality for the US 34 project with the expectation that the findings from this study can also be applied to jointed concrete pavement projects in general. The outcomes of this study are recommendations for improvements in construction practices to help minimize the effects of curling and warping on jointed concrete pavement ride quality as well as recommendations for the collection of ride quality data for acceptance. Implementation recommendations include potential modifications to concrete pavement construction practices and/or specifications, particularly for hot weather paving, as well as recommendations for modifications to the collection of pavement smoothness acceptance data for jointed concrete pavements. The recommendations for smoothness acceptance data collection can be implemented on pilot projects or as shadow specifications in the coming construction seasons. After each construction season, the recommended procedures can be further evaluated before being included in the Standard Specifications. Recommendations for construction practices/specifications are less substantial and may only require minor modifications to standard practices and specifications.

• Record URL:
  https://www.codot.gov/programs/research/pdfs/2015-research-reports/curling/at_download/file
• 
• Summary URL:
  https://www.codot.gov/programs/research/pdfs/2015-research-reports/curling/view
• Corporate Authors:

  Transtec Group, Incorporated

  6111 Balcones Drive
  Austin, TX  United States  78731

  Colorado Department of Transportation

  4201 E Arkansas Avenue
  Denver, CO  United States  80222

  Federal Highway Administration

  1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
  Washington, DC  United States  20590
• Authors:
  • Merritt, David K
  • Chang, George K
  • Torres, Helga N
  • Mohanraj, Kiran
  • Rasmussen, Robert O
• Publication Date: 2015-9

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Digital/other
• Edition: Final Report
• Features: Appendices; Figures; Maps; References; Tables;
• Pagination: 77p

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Concrete pavements; Curling; Evaluation; Pavement performance; Periods of the day; Recommendations; Roughness; Warpage
• Geographic Terms: Greeley (Colorado)
• Subject Areas: Construction; Highways; Pavements; I32: Concrete; I52: Construction of Pavements and Surfacings;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01590484
• Record Type: Publication
• Report/Paper Numbers: CDOT-2015-07
• Contract Numbers: 414.02
• Files: TRIS, ATRI, USDOT, STATEDOT
• Created Date: Feb 18 2016 9:26AM