Structural Performance of Ultra-Thin Whitetopping on Illinois Roadways and Parking Lots

King, Daniel; Roesler, Jeffrey

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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/50312 Copy

Description

Title

Structural Performance of Ultra-Thin Whitetopping on Illinois Roadways and Parking Lots

Author(s)

• King, Daniel
• Roesler, Jeffrey

Issue Date

2014-08

Keyword(s)

• ultra-thin whitetopping
• bonded concrete overlays
• visual distress survey
• backcalculations
• falling weight deflectometer
• non-destructive testing

Geographic Coverage

Illinois

Abstract

A performance evaluation of ultra-thin whitetopping (UTW) pavements in Illinois was undertaken in 2012–2014 to evaluate current design procedures and to determine design life criteria for future projects. The two main components of this evaluation were (1) visual distress surveys of 20 existing UTW projects across the state to document and quantify distresses and (2) falling weight deflectometer (FWD) testing of eight of these UTW projects to evaluate structural performance. The findings of the surveys are detailed in this report. Deflection data collected during FWD testing were used to directly calculate load transfer efficiency and assess joint performance, but there was no existing method to assess the in situ structural properties of UTW pavements. To better characterize structural performance, a backcalculation procedure for UTW pavements was derived and applied to the deflection data obtained from FWD testing. The backcalculated effective concrete thickness quantifies the load carrying capacity of the UTW pavement, variation of the structural capacity as a function of distance along the roadway, and potentially the condition of the concrete–asphalt bond interface and the underlying asphalt concrete layer. The findings of the visual distress surveys and the FWD data analysis largely agreed with each other and were studied to help provide a greater understanding of factors that affect UTW performance. From this analysis, a number of conclusions and recommendations were made regarding UTW pavement design and construction.

Publisher

Illinois Center for Transportation/Illinois Department of Transportation

Series/Report Name or Number

Illinois Center for Transportation Series No. 14-020. Research Report No. FHWA-ICT-14-018

ISSN

0197-9191

Type of Resource

text

Language

en

Permalink

http://hdl.handle.net/2142/50312

Sponsor(s)/Grant Number(s)

Illinois Department of Transportation, R27-061

Copyright and License Information

No restrictions. This document is available to the public through the National Technical Information Service, Springfield, Virginia 22161.

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