摘要: |
Two elements contribute to concrete performance and the service life of pavements--the concrete mixture itself and construction practices engineers use to mix, place, and cure the concrete. The ideal mixture combined with bad practices can produce an inferior result with problems such as cracking, poor concrete durability, and premature deterioration. Similarly, a poor mixture coupled with good practices also can produce a substandard result. This article discusses efforts by the Federal Highway Administration's Portland Cement Concrete Pavement team at the Turner-Fairbank Highway Research Center in McLean, Virginia, to study various aspects of concrete performance, including fresh and hardened concrete properties. The aim is to provide research on concrete improvement, through better material selection and proportioning, and on improvement of lab and field test performance predictions. |