A major problem confronting transportation departments is the surface deterioration of portland cement concrete (PCC) pavements and bridge decks. Some of these defects include cracking, spalling, polishing, and surface erosion. Each of these defects contributes to further deterioration within the concrete structure by allowing an infiltration of moisture, oxygen, deicing salts, chlorides, and other contaminants. Upon contact with the reinforcing steel, rusting occurs, causing internal tensile stresses that result in further surface spalling, hollow plane delamination and cracking. One effective technique used since the middle 1950s is to retard this corrosion process by preventing the penetration of chlorides and moisture into the concrete with in impermeable epoxy polymer concrete (EPC) overlay. These overlays also provide wear-resistant surfaces and extend the service life of the pavement or deck. Documented experience indicates that EPC overlays are cost effective, reduce overall annual maintenance costs, and provide a safe driving surface. This paper presents two project tracking studies. The first is a comparison of a new PCC slab placement to a thin EPC overlayment on an existing PCC pavement installed 15 years ago; the pavements are side-by-side. The documentation compares traffic volumes and surface deteriorations, such as wearability, spalling, polishing, and cracks. The second study involves a thin EPC overlay placed on a badly deteriorated PCC bridge deck 10 years ago to improve skid properties and provide an overall safer driving surface.

This research concerns the release of liquid methyl methacrylate from inside of the porous fibers into hardened concrete matrices to reduce permeability. Low heat is applied to the composite. It melts the wax coating on the fibers and dries the matrix, both of which act to move the methyl methacrylate and wax out into the matrix surrounding the fiber. The heat is increased, and the monomer becomes polymerized in the dispersed state into the matrix. Research results showed reduction in matrix permeability.

Epoxy asphalt concrete is a polymer concrete with a 25-year history of application as a bridge deck surfacing. Since 1967, over 100 million pounds (50,000 tons) have been installed on 22 bridge decks totaling 6.5 million square feet. Most installations have exhibited excellent performance. The epoxy asphalt binder is a two-phase, thermoset chemical system in which the continuous phase is an acid cured epoxy and the discontinuous phase is a mixture of asphalts. The aggregates and gradation are similar to those used in asphalt concrete. The epoxy asphalt binder components are premixed before being combined with the heated aggregate in a conventional asphalt batch plant and applied through conventional asphalt paving equipment. Epoxy asphalt concrete has found use as a pavement for new orthotropic steel bridge decks and as an overlay for existing concrete bridge decks. Epoxy asphalt has also been applied as a chip-seal. On one project, the epoxy asphalt concrete was shop applied to steel plates that were later installed as a bridge deck. Several installations have not performed as expected. Successful installations require close temperature control of aggregates and careful attention to early compaction. This paper also provides a history of the commercial use of epoxy asphalt in the United States and Canada.

Industrial floors of asphalt concrete or other bituminous products are deformed under sustained concentrated loads. They are also dark in color and difficult to clean. Consequently, they need to be renovated. The use of polymer-modified concrete (PMC) overlays is an interesting alternative. Reinforced and unreinforced overlays were subjected to static and rolling wheel loads. Reinforced PMC overlays on asphalt showed a high load-carrying capacity. Shrinkage tests were carried out on PMC prisms and on concrete and bituminous overlaid with PMC. A two-layer overlay with wear and leveling layers was less prone to shrinkage than an overlay solely consisting of awear layer.

A new family of latexes has been developed for use in portland cement that has a minimum film-formation temperature (MFFT) well above working temperature, eliminating the two major drawbacks of latex-modified mixtures: formation of a crust on the surface and difficulty in cleaning tools. Instead of coalescing to form a film, as do the typical latex modifiers for portland cement, these latex particles maintain their shape as spheres. Of the several formulations studied, two are reported here: a styrene polymer and a methyl methacrylate polymer, both carboxylated. In addition to extensive laboratory testing of both polymers, two field trials with the styrene latex formulation were conducted. These laboratory and field studies demonstrated that film formation is not necessary for latexes to contribute to the performance of portland cement mixes. The data from these studies are encouraging, but also revealed that much more work needs to be done to fully understand the capabilities and limitations of this family of latexes.