Internal Curing of Concrete Paving: Laboratory and Field Experience
By Tracey Friggle, P.E., Texas Department of Transportation
and Don Reeves, TXI Expanded Shale and Clay
The construction of a five-mile section of State Highway (SH) 121 north
of Dallas is currently underway by the Texas Department of
Transportation (TxDOT) and involves the conversion of a non-freeway into
a freeway facility. This technical paper presents the field experience
for mixing, placing, finishing, and testing of slipform mainline
concrete paving, utilizing rotary kiln expanded lightweight aggregate as
both an intermediate gradation and as reservoir to provide water to
enhance the cement hydration of a typical paving mix. There is abundant
laboratory research on internal curing of concrete including but not
limited to numerous studies by Bentz et al “Internal Curing and
Microstructure of High Performance Mortars”. Construction of SH
121 represents the next logical step, following research, taking the
laboratory to the field in the form of this major highway project.
TxDOT anticipates higher strengths, leading to reduced paste content,
reduced drying shrinkage cracking, and possibly less susceptibility to
freeze thaw damage.
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