Presentation on

Quality Control of
Rigid pavements
To
Assistant Executive Engineers of
Panchayat Raj Department
organized by AP HRDI at Bapatla
On 14-11-2017

By
V.Ravindranath B.Sc.Engg.,FIE.,PGCpm.,PG.Dip.ADR
Chief Engineer R&B (Rtd)

Mail: ravi.egis@gmail.com
Mobile: 9110320236
Concrete definition:

Concrete may be considered as a

two phase material
consisting of aggregate particles
dispersed in a matrix of cement paste
Concrete description:

•Concrete has a highly heterogeneous

and complex microstructure.

•It is very difficult to constitute realistic models of

its microstructure from which the behavior of the
material can be really predicted.

•Knowledge of the microstructure and properties of

individual components of concrete and their
relationship to each other is useful for exercising
control on the properties.
Why Concrete?
Unlike wood and ordinary steel, it can withstand
the action of water without serious deterioration.

It is therefore is an ideal material for building

structures to control, store and transport water.

widespread use of concrete is the ease with

which structural concrete elements can be formed
into a variety of shapes and sizes

The popularity of concrete with Engineers is

usually the cheapest and most readily available
material on the job.
Why concrete pavements?

•Long life
•Maintenance free performance
•Good riding quality
•Withstand extremes of weather
•Effect of oil slippage avoided
Why concrete pavements?

•Stagnation of water has no effect

•Skid resistant
•Design precision
•Pollution-free construction
•Fuel saving
•Economy in life cycle cost
Disadvantages concrete pavements

•Very high initial investment (only if

OPC is used)
•Not suitable for stage construction
•Transverse and longitudinal joints are
unavoidable
•A minimum period of 28 days curing
required before opening to traffic
Design period - IRC:58-2002

Cement concrete pavements

have life span of 30 years
And should be designed for this period.

For low traffic volume roads

20 years is considered
Concrete strength - (1501.3.4)

Concrete mix shall be

minimum M30 grade
Operations involved in Concrete

Batching: Introducing into the mixture the

ingredients for a batch of concrete.
Mixing: Ingredients must be mixed thoroughly into
a homogeneous mass
Conveying: Transportation of concrete to a
job site as quickly as possible.
Placing: Placing/pouring concrete as near as
possible to its final position.
Compacting: Process of molding concrete
within the forms and around
items and reinforcing steel.
Curing: Moist curing to achieve a degree of
matur
Cement: IRC: SP62-2014

1. Ordinary Portland Cement 43 grade

(IS:8112)
(preference to use 43 grade)

2. Portland Blast Furnace Slag Cement (IS:455)

3. Portland Pozzaolana Cement (IS:1489)

4. Ordinary Portland Cement 53 grade (IS:12269)

(blended with fly ash)

Cement Content:
The mass of cementitious content (cement+fly ash/slag) or
cement = 360 to 425kg/cum
Aggregates - IRC:15-2002

•Aggregates for concrete shall be natural

material complying with IS:383

•Los angles aberration value should not be

more than 35%

•Limit of deleterious materials shall not

exceed the requirement setout in IS:383
Course aggregates

•Shall consist of clean, hard, strong, dense non-

porous and durable pieces of crushed stone or
crushed gravel
•Maximum size of course aggregate shall not
exceed 25mm for pavement concrete
•Water Absorption ≤ 5 % . If it exceeds 3 % ,
soundness test as per IS IS:: 2386 part V shall be
done..
done
•Aggregates shall be tested for soundness as per
IS:2386 (part V)
•If aggregates are not free from dirt, they may be
washed and drained for at least 72 hours
coarse aggregate gradation as per table 2 of IS: 383 (MORD
table 800.1 or MORT&H 1000-1) for concrete

Percent by Weight Passing the Sieve

IS Sieve
Size 40 mm 20 mm 12.5 mm
63 mm 100 -- --
40 mm 95-100 100 --
20 mm 30-70 95-100 100
12.5 mm -- -- 90-100
10 mm 10-35 25-55 40-85
4.75 mm 0-5 0-10 0-10
Single size aggregates shall not be used for any Concrete item unless specified

Maximum size of Coarse aggregate may be as large as possible within the limits
specified, but in no case greater than ¼th of minimum thickness of member or
10mm less than the clear distance between individual reinforcement or 10mm14 less
than clear cover to any reinforcement.
Fine aggregates

•Fine aggregates shall consist of clean natural

Sand or crushed stone or combination of two
confirming to IS:383
•They shall not contain substances more than
-Clay lumps 4.0%
-Coal and lignite 1.0%
-Material passing
75 microns 4.0%
•IS:383 permits 15% fines passing 75 microns
-but this is applicable for crushed
stone aggregates (Robo sand)
Fine Aggregate as per Table 4 0f IS: 383

Percent passing for

IS Sieve
Grading Grading Grading Grading
Designation
Zone-I Zone-II Zone-III Zone-IV
10mm 100 100 100 100
4.75mm 90 – 100 90 – 100 90 – 100 95 – 100
2.36mm 60 – 95 75 – 100 85 – 100 95 – 100
1.18mm 30 – 70 55 – 90 75 – 100 90 – 100
600microns 15 – 34 35 – 59 60 – 79 80 – 100
300microns 5 – 20 8 – 30 12 – 40 15 – 50
150microns 0 – 10 0 – 10 0 – 10 0 - 15

Note: Zone IV is not allowable for RCC works and CD works

as per MORT&H and MORD Specifications 16
MORD Table 1500.1:
Combined Gradation of Coarse and fine aggregates for CC roads

Percent by Weight
IS Sieve Size
Passing the Sieve

26.5mm 100
19 mm 80-100
9.5 mm 55-80
4.75 mm 35-60
0.600mm 10-35
0.075mm 0-8
17
 Water

•Water to be used in concrete shall be clean,

shall be free from oil, salt, acid, vegetable
mater and other harmful substances

•Shall meet requirements specified in IS:456

•Potable water is most preferable for mixing

and curing concrete
Water: IRC:15-2002

Permissible limits of solids in water

IS:456-2000
Type of contents Prescription of Permissible limits
test
Organic IS 3025 Part 18 200 mg/l
Inorganic IS 3025 Part 18 3000 mg/l
Sulphates (SO3) IS 3025 Part 24 400 mg/l
Chlorides (Cl) IS 3025 Part 32 PCC: 2000 mg/l
RCC: 500mg/l
Suspended IS 3025 Part 18 2000 mg/l
matter
 Admixtures

•Admixtures are used to improve workability of

concrete or extension of setting time
•Ensure that they will not have any adverse
effect on the properties of concrete with
respect to strength
•Admixtures confirming to IS:6925 and IS:9103
may be used
•Total quantity of air in air-entrained concrete
as a percentage of the volume of mix shall be
5±1.5 (25mm nominal size of aggregates)
Workability

•Defined as the property determining the effort

required to manipulate freshly mixed quantity of
concrete with minimum loss of homogeneity.
•The term manipulate includes the early age
operations of placing compacting and finishing.
•Effort required to place concrete mixture is
determined by the overall work needed to intimate
and maintain flow.
•This again depends on rehelogical property of
lubricant and internal friction between the aggregate
particles. Also the friction between the concrete and
the surface of the form work.
Water content and Workability

•Water content shall be minimum required to

provide the agreed workability
•Maximum water content ratio shall be 0.5
•Adjustments for workability shall be made
for variations of water absorbed by aggregates
•Slump of concrete mix- compacted by vibrators
using packing train shall be 30±15 mm
•Slump for manual construction using needle
vibration for compaction be 40mm
Coefficient of Permeability for different W/C ratios

Coefficient of
S.No W/C ratio
Permeability

1 0.35 1.05 x 10-3

2 0.50 10.30 x 10-3

3 0.65 1000 x 10-3

23
Batching and mixing - 1502.4.2

•Weigh batcher (double bucket swing type)

will be installed at site

•The ingredients course aggregates, fly ash,

sand and cement shall be by weight only

•Mixing shall be done in concrete mixtures

•Loading sequence of ingredients:

course aggregates-Fine aggregates-
Cement- and lastly water shall be added
Concrete Placement Temperature - IRC:15-2002

4ºC is undesirable because of very slow

development of strength.

30ºC is also undesirable due to higher water

requirement (develop internal stresses and
cause micro cracks)

15ºC – 24ºC is desirable temperature for

placement of concrete.
IRC: 15-2011 ., Placing of concrete
Where semi-mechanised construction technique is adopted,
concrete shall be deposited between the forms directly from
head loads or wheel barrows.

Where a certain amount of redistribution is necessary, it shall

be done with shovels and not with rakes.

The concrete shall be compacted with needle vibrators and

vibrating screeds in semi-mechanised construction where a
paver finisher is not available. Use of vibrator near side forms
is essential to eliminate honey combing.

Any portion of the batch of concrete that becomes segregated

while depositing it on subgrade/ sub-base shall be thoroughly
mixed with the main body of the batch during the process of sp
reading.
Separation membrane - MORD 1501.7

A separation membrane shall be used

between the concrete slab and sub-base.

It shall be impregnable plastic sheet

125 microns thick laid without creases.

Before placing it, the sub-base shall be

swept clean of all extraneous materials

27
IRC: 15-2011 ., Floating
As soon as practicable after the concrete has been
compacted, its surface shall be smoothened by means
of a longitudinal float, operated from a foot-bridge.

The longitudinal float shall be worked with a sawing

motion, while held in a floating position parallel to the
carriageway centreline and passed gradually from one
side of the pavement to the other.

Forms shall not be removed from freshly placed concr

ete unit it has set, or at least 12 hours, whichever is
later. They shall be carefully removed in such a
manner that no damage is done to the edges of the
pavement.
Texturing

Just before the concrete becomes non plastic, the surface

shall be textured with an approved long handled steel or fiber
brush.
The brush shall be pulled gently over the pavement surface
transversely from one edge to the other. Adjacent strokes
shall be slightly overlapped.
Texturing shall be perpendicular to the center line of the
pavement. The corrugations so produced will be uniform in
character, width and about 1.5mm deep.
Texturing shall be completed before the concrete reaches
such a stage that the surface is likely to be torn or unduly
roughened by the operation.
Texturing shall be free from porous or rough spots,
irregularities, depressions and small pockets.

29
Curing - (1502.6)

After completing compaction depending

upon weather, wind velocity and humidity,
curing shall start

within one hour or two hours, after laying

by covering the RCCP with wet hessian in
two three layers for first 24 hours after first
day's curing

small earthen rectangle dykes about 50

mm height shall be made and filled with
water
Curing of concrete

Curing is essential for full development

of the desired properties of concrete.
Cured concrete will be:
•Stronger
•More durable
•More impermeable
•More resistant to stress
•More resistant to aberrations
•More resistant to freezing and thawing
Curing of concrete

•At temperature below 10º C- unfavorable

development of early strength

•At temperature below 4º C- development

of early strength is retarded

•Below freezing temperature- little or no

early strength develops.
Effects of Improper Curing

Lowering of compressive and flexural strengths

Sanding and dusting of surface and lower

abrasion resistance
Higher permeability and lower durability

Cracks due to plastic shrinkage, drying

shrinkage and thermal cracking

Increased rate of Carbonation and chloride

ingress

Lower weathering and frost resistance

Formation Of Joints - MORD 1501.8.1

Saw cutting of joints of pavement slab as per

stipulated dimensions should be done when
concrete is neither too soft nor too hard.

Sawing operations should start as early as

possible depending upon the season.

The initial saw cutting shall be done with the

help of saw cutting machine with diamond
studded blade.
34
 Types Of Joints

a) Contraction Joints (Transverse)

To be spaced at 2.5m to 4m

b) Construction Joints (Transverse)

To be provided at the end of day’s work or work
suspended for more than 90 minutes

c) Expansion Joints (Transverse)

To be provided when CC pavement abuts bridge or
slab culvert

d) Longitudinal joints
To be provided when the width is more than 4.5m
35
Contraction joints as per IRC:SP:62-2014:

Contraction joints may be spaced at 2.5m to 4m. They may

be formed by sawing the pavement slabs within 24 hours of
concrete casting.

Practice abroad indicates the narrow contraction joints 3 to

5mm wide perform well with better riding quality.

HDPE strips 3mm to 5mm thick with suitable tensioning and

intermediate support for keeping the strip in position can be
also used for creating joints. The strips are kept in place.
Metal strips and T section are the other options.

Joint depth can be extended from 1/4th to 1/3rd depth of

slab.
36
 Dowel bars as per IRC:SP:62-2014:
Dowel bars of MS 25mm dia, 450mm length and
spaced at 250mm center to center are to be provided
at expansion joints. Thickness of expansion joint is
about 20mm.
Dowel bars are not necessary at contraction joints for
rural roads.
Construction joints shall be provided at the end of
day’s work or when work is suspended for more than
90 minutes at the location of contraction joint only.
Keyed construction joint is preferable. 3mm to 5mm
joint is sufficient.
Expansion joints are to be provided when the CC road
abuts bridge or slab culvert.
37
 Details of Dowel bars
IRC:15-2002

Slab Dowel bar details

thickness Dia Length Spacing
In mm In mm In mm
15 25 500 200
20 25 500 250
25 25 500 300
30 32 500 300
35 32 500 300

Note: Dowel bars shall not be provided

for slabs of less than 15cm thick
 Details of tie bars for longitudinal joint IRC: 58-2002
Slab
Dia Max. spacing cm Max. length cm
thickness
mm Plain bars deformed Plain
cm deformed
bars
8 33 53 44 48
15
10 52 83 51 56
10 39 62 51 56
20
12 56 90 58 64
12 45 72 58 64
25
16 80 128 72 80
12 37 60 58 64
30
16 66 106 72 80
12 32 51 58 64
35
16 57 91 72 80
Joint Filler in expansion join

Compressible without extrusion and elastic

Sealing Compound in joints

Good adhesion
Extensibility without cracking
Resistance to flow in hot weather
Resistance to the ingress of grit
Durability
 Acceptance Criteria for Cracked Concrete Slabs
Slabs with full depth cracks are totally unacceptable as
it amounts to structural failures.

Other cracks which are deep and are likely to progress

in depth with time are also to be considered as serious
in nature. Fine crazy cracks are not serious.

Slabs with cracks having depth more than half slab

depth shall not be accepted.

Following type of cracked slabs are acceptable:

1) Length of single crack shall not be more than 750mm,
eventhough its depth is less than half of slab depth.
2) Cumulative length of cracks with depth of crack less than
46
half depth of slab in a panel not more than 1250mm
 Concrete Cores in CC roads:
Crushing strength of cylindrical specimens=0.8×crushing strength of cubes
when the height to diameter ratio of core is 2.
Crushing strength of cylinders with height to diameter ratio between 1 and 2
may be multiplied by a correction factor f = 0.11n+0.78 where n is height to
diameter ratio.
Number of cores = minimum 3

The concrete in the core test shall be considered acceptable if the average
equivalent cube strength of the cores is at least 85% of the cube strength of
the grade of concrete specified for the corresponding age and no individual
core has a strength less than 75%

A core specimen for the determination of pavement thickness shall have a

diameter of at least 10 cm. A core specimen for the determination of
compressive strength shall have a diameter at least three times the
maximum nominal size of the coarse aggregate used in the concrete, and in
no case shall the diameter of the specimen be less than twice the maximum
nominal size of the coarse aggregate. The length of the specimen, when
capped, shall be as nearly as practicable twice its diameter.
MORD Table 1800.8, Frequency of Quality Control Tests for
Paving Quality Cement Concrete Pavement

Levels and Alignment

To be checked for each day’s
Level Tolerance
work (clause 1802.3)
Surface Regularity
Regularly
Longitudinal & Transverse
Width of Pavement and To be checked for each day’s
position of paving edges work (clause 1802.3)

Pavement Thickness Regularly at grid points

To be checked for each day’s

Alignment of joints
work
To be checked for each day’s
Depth of Dowel bars
work
49
MORD Table 1800.8, Frequency of Quality Control Tests for
Paving Quality Cement Concrete Pavement

Cement and Water

Test
Item frequency
method
One for each source of supply
IS: 269, and occasionally when called
Cement:
IS: 455, for in case of long/ improper
Physical and
1489, storage. Besides, the contractor
Chemical tests
IS:8112 shall also submit daily test data
IS: 12269 on cement released by the
manufacturer.
Water Once for Approval of source of
Chemical IS: 456 supply, subsequently in case of
Tests doubt 50
MORD Table 1800.-8, Frequency of Quality Control Tests for
Paving Quality Cement Concrete Pavement

Coarse and Fine Aggregates

Test Test Method Frequency
AIV IS: 2386-part 4 1 test per source
FIV IS: 2386-part 1 1 test per source
Deleterious
IS: 2386 part 2 1 test fo each day’s work
constituents
Regularly as required subject to a
Water
minimum of 1 test a day for coarse
Absorption/ IS: 2386-part 3
aggregate and 2 tests a day for
Content
fine aggregates.
Soundness IS: 2386-part 5 1 test per source
Gradation IS: 2386-part 1 1 test per each day’s work

Alkali Aggregate
IS: 2386-part 7 1 test per source
Reaction
51
MORD Table 1800-8, Frequency of Quality Control Tests for
Paving Quality

Concrete for pavement

Minimum 6 cubes and 6 beams

Strength of per day’s work
IS:516
Concrete (3 each for 7 day 28 day
strength).

1 test per 3 cubic meters of

Workability of
concrete at paving site or 1 test
fresh concrete IS: 1199
for each dumper laid at plant
Slump test
site

52
Concrete overlay over bituminous surface is
known as white-topping

IRC:SP:76-2015: Tentative Guidelines for

Conventional and Thin White Topping
Types of White-topping

Used on
200mm or
Conventional Heavily Trafficked
more
Corridors
More than
100mm and Used for
Thin
less than Collector Streets
200 mm
Used for
Up to 100
Ultra Thin Collector And Local
mm
Streets
Thin White-topping

Thickness 100-200 mm

Joint Spacing 1.0 x 1.0 m (0.6m to 1.25m as per

IRC: 76)

Existing Bituminous Layer is Milled to Bond Well

to Ensure Composite Action
Polypropylene Fibers (0.2-0.4% Weight of
Cement) Added
M-40 Concrete is Used
Ultra Thin White-topping

Thickness 50-100 mm
Joint Spacing about 1.0 x 1.0 m (0.6m to 1.25m
as per IRC: 76)
Existing BT is Milled and Concrete is Made to
Bond Well to Ensure Composite Action
Polypropylene Fibers added (0.2-0.4% Weight
of Cement)
M-40 Concrete is Used
Cities where White Topping Concrete
Roads have been Constructed

Mumbai
Pune
Nasik
Nagpur
Aligarh
Wazirabad Bridge Approaches
Hyderabad
 Mail:

Thank you By
V.Ravindranath B.Sc.Engg.,FIE.,PGCpm.,PG.Dip.ADR
Chief Engineer R&B (Rtd)