Heavy vehicle simulator testing on pre-cast concrete panels

Abstract

Paper presented at the 26th Annual Southern African Transport Conference 9 - 12 July 2007 "The challenges of implementing policy?", CSIR International Convention Centre, Pretoria, South Africa. ABSTRACT: For heavily trafficked highways, such as those commonly found in California, the use of pre-cast concrete slabs is considered to be a very suitable means of extending the service life of intermittently distressed concrete pavements. This is on account of the long life expectancy of concrete slabs cast in factory-controlled conditions and also because fully cured pre-cast slabs can potentially be trafficked almost immediately after installation, making them attractive for use on heavily trafficked highways where allowable work windows for full-depth repairs are very short. The foregoing benefits can only be realized if pre-cast slabs are constructed and installed with appropriate materials and under adequate supervision, as there are many factors that can affect the structural and functional life of this increasingly popular type of pavement repair method. This paper focuses on the results obtained from recent accelerated loading testing in California with a Heavy Vehicle Simulator (HVS) on a particular system of pre-cast slabs, referred to as Super-Slab®.