Development and Evaluation of a Portable Device for Measuring Curling and Warping in Concrete Pavements

Portland cement concrete (PCC) pavement undergoes repeated environmental load-related deflection resulting from temperature and moisture variations across pavement depth. This has been recognized as resulting in PCC pavement curling and warping since the mid-1920s. Slab curvature can be further magnified under repeated traffic loads and may ultimately lead to fatigue failures, including top-down and bottom-up transverse, longitudinal, and corner cracking. It is therefore significant to measure the “true” degree of curling and warping in PCC pavements, not only for quality control (QC) and quality assurance (QA) purposes, but also for better understanding of its relationship to long-term pavement performance. Although several approaches and devices—including linear variable differential transducers (LVDTs), digital indicators, and some profilers—have been proposed for measuring curling and warping, their application in the field is subject to cost, inconvenience, and complexity of operation. This research therefore explores developing an economical and simple device for measuring curling and warping in concrete pavements with accuracy comparable to or better than existing methodologies. Technical requirements were identified to establish assessment criteria for development, and field tests were conducted to modify the device to further enhancement. The finalized device is about 12 inches in height and 18 pounds in weight, and its manufacturing cost is just $320. Detailed development procedures and evaluation results for the new curling and warping measuring device are presented and discussed, with a focus on achieving reliable curling and warping measurements in a cost-effective manner.

• Record URL:
  • http://www.intrans.iastate.edu/research/documents/research-reports/MTC_portable_curling_and_warping_device_w_cvr.pdf
• Record URL:
  • http://lib.dr.iastate.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1094&context=intrans_techtransfer
• Summary URL:
  • http://lib.dr.iastate.edu/intrans_reports/176
• Summary URL:
  • http://lib.dr.iastate.edu/intrans_techtransfer/94
• Summary URL:
  • https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/39267
• Record URL:
  • https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/39268
• Supplemental Notes:
  • This document was sponsored by the U.S. Department of Transportation, University Transportation Centers Program.
• Corporate Authors:

  Iowa State University, Ames

  Institute for Transportation
  Ames, IA  United States  50010-8664

  Iowa Department of Transportation

  Ames, IA  United States  50010

  Midwest Transportation Center

  227 South Quadrangle
  Iowa City, IA  United States  52242

  Federal Highway Administration

  1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
  Washington, DC  United States  20590

  Department of Transportation

  Office of the Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology
  1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
  Washington, DC  United States  20590

  Research and Innovative Technology Administration

  1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
  Washington, DC  United States  20590
• Authors:
  • Ceylan, Halil
  • 0000-0003-1133-0366
  • Steffes, Robert F
  • Gopalakrishnan, Kasthurirangan
  • Kim, Sunghwan
  • 0000-0002-1239-2350
  • Yang, Shuo
  • Zhuang, Kailin
• Publication Date: 2016-1

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Digital/other
• Edition: Final Report
• Features: Appendices; Figures; Maps; Photos; References; Tables;
• Pagination: 86p

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Concrete pavements; Curling; Evaluation; Field tests; Measuring instruments; Pavement performance; Portable equipment; Portland cement concrete; Warpage
• Subject Areas: Highways; Maintenance and Preservation; Pavements;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01593702
• Record Type: Publication
• Report/Paper Numbers: InTrans Project 13-486
• Contract Numbers: DTRT13-G-UTC37
• Files: UTC, NTL, TRIS, RITA, ATRI, USDOT, STATEDOT
• Created Date: Mar 16 2016 9:35AM