Effect of Concrete Mix Consolidation on Joint Faulting and Load Transfer Efficiency

Six jointed reinforced concrete pavement and one jointed plain concrete pavement test sections on US-69 in Miami County, Kansas, constructed in 1979 have been surveyed annually for faulting for the past 9 years. Falling weight deflectometer tests were conducted in 1995 to assess the load transfer efficiency of the joints. The results show that, in general, as the original concrete density increases due to improved consolidation, the rate of increase of the joint fault depth decreases at doweled joints at a given pavement age. The occurrence of joint faulting is much more severe when load transfer devices are not present; this was observed even for the pavement section built on a nonerodible subbase. Improved consolidation sometimes appeared to help improve load transfer, resulting in a lower rate of faulting. Thus, the mandatory density requirement of 98 percent rodded unit weight, which has been in effect since 1980, has undoubtedly led to better joint performance for concrete pavements in Kansas.