Performance of a Trial Section Reconstructed Using Cellular Concrete in the City of Edmonton

Over the past two decades, roadways in several residential neighborhoods within northeast Edmonton have experienced significant early structural failures. Failures were so severe in some cases that heavy vehicles (i.e. garbage and fire trucks) were not able to access some affected streets. These failures occurred as a result of the presence of subgrade soils that are susceptible to water softening, poor subgrade drainage, and additional water drainage from private sump pumps. As a consequence, The City of Edmonton has established an extensive roads program that conducts annual replacement of roadways in northeast Edmonton. As part of the above-noted roads replacement program, two trial sections were selected by The City of Edmonton to be reconstructed in 2009. These sections were located in adjacent cul-de-sacs to provide for comparison of performance between two constructions methods. One section was constructed using a traditional granular section, and the other used lightweight cellular concrete (LCC) as a subbase material. LCC is a construction material formed by mixing a cement and water slurry with a pre-formed foam, similar in consistency to shaving cream. The material is produced onsite and pumped into place using proprietary pumping equipment that may be setup several hundred meters from the pour area. The LCC supplied for the above-noted projects had a wet (cast) density of 475 kg/m3, which is approximately one-fifth the density of typical granular subbase. As a result of the high percentage of air bubbles (approximately 72% by volume), the material also has insulating qualities that, depending on the applied thickness, can reduce or prevent frost heave and subsequent thaw weakening of subgrade soils. Load-deflection data was gathered on the trial sections for both pre and post construction conditions using The City of Edmonton’s Dynaflect system. The City performed additional testing in 2016 using both its Dynaflect and Falling Weight Deflectometer systems. The results of this testing are presented in this paper. Since reconstruction, no maintenance activities have been required for either the granular or cellular concrete trial sections.

• Record URL:
  https://www.tac-atc.ca/sites/default/files/conf_papers/doltonb-performance_of_a_trial_section.pdf
• Corporate Authors:

  Transportation Association of Canada (TAC)

  401-1111 Prince of Wales Drive
  Ottawa, Ontario  Canada 
• Authors:
  • Donovan, H
  • Kanji, F
  • Dolton, B
• Conference:
  • TAC 2018: Innovation and Technology: Evolving Transportation - 2018 Conference and Exhibition of the Transportation Association of Canada
• Publication Date: 2018

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Web
• Pagination: 1 PDF file, 2.3 MB, 21p.
• Monograph Title: TAC 2018: Innovation and Technology: Evolving Transportation - 2018 Conference and Exhibition of the Transportation Association of Canada

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Base course (Pavements); Concrete; Conferences; Drainage; Expanded materials; Highways; Repairing; Residential areas; Subsoil; Test tracks
• Geographic Terms: Canada
• ITRD Terms: 8018: Canada; 4755: Concrete; 8525: Conference; 2937: Drainage; 4502: Expanded material; 2755: Highway; 3635: Repair; 307: Residential area; 2961: Roadbase; 2930: Subsoil; 2789: Test track
• Subject Areas: Highways; Hydraulics and Hydrology; I42: Soil Mechanics;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01683304
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: Transportation Association of Canada (TAC)
• Files: ITRD, TAC
• Created Date: Oct 16 2018 2:05PM