EVALUATION OF PREFORMED ELASTOMERIC PAVEMENT JOINT SEALING SYSTEMS AND PRACTICES

AN EXTENSIVE EXPERIMENTAL PROGRAM WAS CONDUCTED USING SECTIONS OF PREFORMED ELASTOMERIC JOINT SEALS OBTAINED FROM COMMERCIAL PRODUCERS. THE PROGRAM INCLUDED (1) A THEORETICAL AND EXPERIMENTAL STUDY TO DETERMINE KINEMATICS OF DEFORMATION AND BASIC MATERIAL PROPERTIES, (2) LABORATORY STUDIES RELATING SEAL PROPERTIES TO PERFORMANCE, AND (3) A PILOT FIELD TEST. THE THEORETICAL STUDY, CONDUCTED BY THE UNIVERSITY OF UTAH UNDER A SUBCONTRACT WITH THE UTAH STATE HIGHWAY DEPARTMENT, INDICATES THAT PREFORMED ELASTOMERIC SEALS OFFER GOOD POTENTIAL FOR SEALING PAVEMENT JOINTS EFFECTIVELY. AN ANALYTICAL TECHNIQUE FOR PREDICTING LOAD- DEFLECTION BEHAVIOR OF A GIVEN SEAL GEOMETRY HAS BEEN DEVELOPED THAT SHOULD BE USEFUL IN THE DESIGN OF MORE EFFECTIVE SEALS. THE PILOT FIELD STUDY CONSISTED OF THE PLACEMENT AND SUBSEQUENT TESTING AFTER TWO YEARS OF SERVICE OF 5/16-IN. AND 7/16-IN. NOMINAL WIDTH SEALS IN TWO EXPERIMENTAL PAVEMENT SECTIONS WITH 13-, 18-, 17-, AND 12-FT SLAB LENGTHS. ALTHOUGH NONE OF THE SEALS PERFORMED ENTIRELY SATISFACTORILY IN THE EXPERIMENTAL SECTIONS FOR A VARIETY OF REASONS, IT WAS POSSIBLE TO DEVELOP RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN FORCE-DEFLECTION MEASUREMENTS OF THE SEALS REMOVED FROM THE SECTIONS AND SEALS SUBJECTED TO LABORATORY CONDITIONING. THE LABORATORY STUDIES INVOLVING ENVIRONMENTAL CYCLING, HEAT- AGING, OZONE RESISTANCE, OIL RESISTANCE, TENSION, HARDNESS, AND WATERTIGHTNESS TESTING OF THE COMMERCIALLY AVAILABLE SEALS PRODUCED THE MOST MEANINGFUL FINDINGS. VARIATIONS IN CROSS-SECTION GEOMETRY, MATERIAL PROPERTIES, AND SEAL WIDTH OF THE SAME OR DIFFERENT LOTS WERE FOUND TO BE EXCESSIVE AT TIMES. ANOTHER IMPORTANT FACTOR IN SEAL PERFORMANCE IS WATERTIGHTNESS. TESTS CONDUCTED DURING THIS STUDY INDICATE THAT THE HIGH DEFLECTIONS REQUIRED TO MAINTAIN WATERTIGHTNESS WITHOUT AN ADHESIVE ARE NOT LIKELY TO BE MAINTAINED THROUGHOUT THE LIFE OF A SEAL. THEREFORE, IT IS RECOMMENDED THAT LUBRICANT ADHESIVES BE USED IN ALL CASES.

• Record URL:
  http://onlinepubs.trb.org/onlinepubs/nchrp/nchrp_rrd_35.pdf
• Supplemental Notes:
  • 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.
• Publication Date: 1972-2

Media Info

• Media Type: Digital/other
• Pagination: 8 p.
• Serial:
  • NCHRP Research Results Digest
  • Issue Number: 35
  • Publisher: Transportation Research Board

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Joint sealers; Joints; Pavements; Properties of materials; Sealing (Technology); Sealing compounds
• Old TRIS Terms: Joint; Sealing
• Subject Areas: Highways; Materials; Pavements;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00205984
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS, TRB
• Created Date: Aug 7 1972 12:00AM