DISCUSSION OF REPORT AND SUPPLEMENTARY STUDIES: EFFECT OF REINFORCEMENT IN PENNSYLVANIA STATE HIGHWAYS - SUMMARY OF REPORT

CONDITION SURVEYS WERE MADE ON 1500 MILES OF CONCRETE ROADS IN PENNSYLVANIA. THE CONCLUSIONS ARE: (1) TRANSVERSE CRACKING OCCURRED IN THE FIRST AND SECOND YEARS MAINLY, LITTLE INCREASE AFTER THREE YEARS, (2) AVERAGE SPACING OF CRACKS IN SHORT SLABS WAS LESS THAN IN LONG SECTIONS, (3) TOTAL NUMBER OF CRACKS INCREASED WITH AGE OF LOAD, (4) CRACKING WAS CONSIDERABLY REDUCED BY INCREASING THE MESH REINFORCEMENT FROM 25 POUNDS TO 56 AND 65 POUNDS PER 100 SQUARE FEET, AND (5) A FOUR-YEAR-OLD SIX-EIGHT-SIX BY EIGHTEEN-FOOT PLAIN CONCRETE SURFACE LAID ON GRAVEL SUBGRADE SHOWED EXCEPTIONALLY FEW CRACKS HAVING AN AVERAGE SLAB LENGTH OF SEVENTY FEET. IN NEW YORK STATE IT WAS FOUND THAT CRACKING WAS GREATLY INFLUENCED BY CHARACTER OF AGGREGATE. IN SOME CASES, PAVEMENTS IN WHICH CERTAIN UNCRUSHED GRAVELS WERE USED AS THE COARSE AGGREGATE DEVELOPED MORE TRANSVERSE CRACKS THAN WHERE BROKEN STONE WAS USED. LIGHT MESH REINFORCEMENT PLACED WITH PRIMARY MEMBERS PERPENDICULAR TO THE CENTER LINE OF THE ROAD AFFORDED A CONSIDERABLE REDUCTION IN TRANSVERSE LONGITUDINAL AND CORNER CRACKS. MR. ACHESON REPORTS ON A SYRACUSE N.Y. RESURFACING EXPERIMENT. APPROXIMATELY ONE MILE OF CONCRETE ROAD WAS RESURFACED WITH CONCRETE, MESH OR BAR REINFORCED, AND ONE PLAIN SECTION. THE LAYING OF CONCRETE FOLLOWED CLOSELY THE N.Y. STATE SPECIFICATIONS WHICH INCLUDE THE USE OF TWO SCREEDS, OR STRIKE-OFF BOARDS. THE ROAD IS NOW UNDER OBSERVATION. MR. BURDEN WAS INFLUENCED BY THE STATEMENT THAT THE PROBLEM OF REINFORCING IS BOUND TO BE DIFFERENT ON DIVIDED PAVEMENT THAN ON THE OLD SINGLE-SLAB PAVEMENT. MR. BURTON ALSO FINDS AS PENNSYLVANIA DOES THAT THE GREATEST INCREASE IN CRACKING OCCURS FROM THE FIRST TO THE SECOND YEAR, MOSTLY IN THE FIRST YEAR.

• Record URL:
  https://onlinepubs.trb.org/Onlinepubs/hrbproceedings/5/5-032.pdf
• Supplemental Notes:
  • Vol 5, Pt 2, PP 112-119, 1 FIG, 1 TAB. 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:
  • Tebbs, P M
  • Blaum, W L
  • Acheson, W M
  • Burton, V R
• Publication Date: 1926

Media Info

• Media Type: Digital/other
• Monograph Title: Proceedings of the Fifth Annual Meeting of the Highway Research Board Held at Washington, D.C. December 3-4, 1925. Part II: Report of Investigation of the Economic Value of Reinforcement in Concrete Roads
• Serial:
  • Highway Research Board Proceedings
  • Volume: 5
  • Publisher: Highway Research Board

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Age; Bars (Building materials); Coarse aggregates; Concrete pavements; Condition surveys; Material reinforcement; Reinforced concrete pavements; Resurfacing; Spacing; State highways; Transverse cracking; Wire mesh
• Subject Areas: Highways; Pavements;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00205799
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS, TRB
• Created Date: Nov 9 1970 12:00AM