PENN STATE'S CONTINUING PAVEMENT TEST IS YIELDING VALUABLE RESEARCH RESULTS

A ONE-MILE, ONE-LANE, OVAL-SHAPED TRACK BUILT BY THE UNIVERSITY IN 1971, IS NOW BEING TESTED TO DETERMINE THE BEST BASE-COURSE MATERIAL FOR STANDARD PENNSYLVANIA HIGHWAY PAVEMENT DESIGN. THERE ARE 17 DIFFERENT BASE-COURSE SECTIONS, WITH EACH CONTAINING A MATERIAL TYPE OR MATERIAL THICKNESS VARIABLE. THE PAVEMENT SURFACE IS A UNIFORM ID-2A WEARING COURSE. THE TRAFFIC ON THE TRACK IS PROVIDED BY A CONVENTIONAL TRUCK TRACTOR WITH A SEMI- AND A FULL-TRAILER WHICH OPERATES 18 HOURS A DAY, FOR SEVEN DAYS A WEEK. RECORDING EQUIPMENT ALONG THE TRACK MEASURES SOIL PRESSURE AND STRESS ON THE SOIL AND PAVEMENT. A SKID TEST AREA IS PROVIDED ON THE INSIDE SHOULDER OF THE CUT TANGENT, AND A 120-FT, 2-SPAN, STANDARD HIGHWAY BRIDGE IS ALSO INCLUDED. TO COMPARE THE DIFFERENT DECK CONSTRUCTIONS, THE BRIDGE WAS INSTRUMENTED WITH, STRAIN GAUGES AND DEFLECTOMETERS. THE DECK SLAB IN THE FIRST SPAN WAS CONSTRUCTED WITH PRESTRESSED CONCRETE PLANKS COVERED WITH 4.5 INCHES OF CONCRETE. TO DATE ONLY MINOR DEFFERENCES HAVE BEEN NOTED BETWEEN THE TWO DIFFERENT BRIDGE CONSTRUCTIONS. THE FIRST CYCLE OF RESEARCH WILL CONTINUE THROUGH JUNE 1974.

• Digital Copy:
  • Purchase a digital copy of this publication for $25 USD
• Corporate Authors:

  Transportation Research Board

  500 Fifth Street, NW
  Washington, DC  United States  20001
• Publication Date: 1973-12

Media Info

• Pagination: p. 20-1
• Serial:
  • Highway Research News
  • Issue Number: 53

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Base course (Pavements); Bridge decks; Building materials; Pavement design; Pavements; Prestressed concrete; Recording instruments; Research; Skid resistance tests; Standardization; Testing; Universities and colleges
• Old TRIS Terms: Recorders
• Subject Areas: Education and Training; Highways; Pavements; Research;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00207616
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS, TRB
• Created Date: Jul 16 1974 12:00AM