New concepts in prestressed concrete pavement

At least three potential benefits of prestressed concrete pavement (PCP) compared with conventional concrete pavement are indicated by previous research and testing. These include (a) more efficient use of construction materials; (b) fewer required joints and less probability of cracking; and (c) reduced overlay thickness that not only reduces the required quantity of concrete, but also would be advantageous where clearance is a problem under bridges, for example. Although several prestressed pavements have been constructed in the United States, the authors believe that the approaches used in these projects do not use the full potential of PCP. Other concepts should be explored that could more fully realize the benefits of PCP in highway construction. Seven new PCP concepts are introduced and developed in this paper: (a) central stressing of slip-formed pavement; (b) precast joint panels and slip-formed pavement; (c) precast joint panels, central stressing panels and slip-formed pavement; (d) composite prestressed concrete pavement Type I (CPCPI); (e) composite prestressed concrete pavement Type II (CPCPII; (f) segmentally precast prestressed concrete pavement (SPPCP); and (g) continuous composite concrete pavement (CCCP). The introduction to each new concept includes descriptions of its most important features and the principles involved. In addition, the characteristics of the seven new PCP concepts are compared to determine (a) the relative ability of the concept to address the problems encountered on previous projects, (b) the relative ability of each concept to effectively utilize the potential of PCP, and (c) what, if any, new problems are created with each concept.