Title: Use of Air Entrainment to Ensure the Frost Resistance of Roller-Compacted Concrete Pavements

Author(s): Steven A. Ragan

Publication: Symposium Paper

Volume: 126

Issue:

Appears on pages(s): 115-130

Keywords: air entrainment; freeze-thaw durability; pavements; roller compacted concrete; Materials Research

DOI: 10.14359/2062

Date: 8/1/1991

Abstract:
Roller-compacted concrete (RCC) pavements are now an economical alternative to those constructed from asphalt and conventionally placed portland cement concrete, particularly for those pavements experiencing heavy-duty, low-speed traffic. However, a major concern related to the use of RCC pavement is its frost resistance. RCC pavements can be constructed with aggregate that are not susceptible to frost, and can be cured to an appropriate degree of maturity so as to reduce the fractional volume of freezable water on saturation to limits that can be accommodated by elastic volume change and by the air-void system. However, the ability to effectively entrain proper air-void systems in RCC pavements has remained a question due to the low water contents required to place the mixtures. An investigation was conducted by the U.S. Army Engineer Waterways Experiment Station Structures Laboratory to determine if proper air-void systems can be entrained in RCC pavement mixtures proportioned with several types and dosage rates of air-entraining admixtures, and with various aggregate types and gradings. Results of the investigation indicated that air-void systems sufficient to protect critically saturated RCC pavement mixtures from deterioration due to cycles of freezing and thawing could be created in a wide range of the mixtures produced without following special mixing procedures.