STUDENT SPOTLIGHT: Each month, or every other month, a student will provide a 1-page illustrated abstract of the research they are currently conducting. This is a wonderful opportunity for the student, for our International Society for Concrete Pavements (ISCP) Members, and for the transferring and sharing technology/research through our concrete paving industry.
The ISCP “STUDENT RESEARCH SPOTLIGHT” for November 2022 is Zachary Brody, a Ph.D. student in civil engineering at the University of Pittsburgh (Pittsburgh, USA).
BIO:
Zachary Brody graduated from the University of Pittsburgh in 2021 with a BS in Civil Engineering. He is now a first year PhD student in Civil Engineering under Dr. Julie Vandenbossche at the University of Pittsburgh. Zachary is evaluating ways to optimize the design of concrete pavement joints. He has evaluated long term strain data of a 16-year-old, in-service concrete pavement to determine the in-situ joint movement and joint closure temperature. He has also performed accelerated load tests on dowel bars and dowel bar systems within a concrete slab. Zachary also worked as an ungraduated pavement research assistant for two years where he helped on various research projects.
TITLE:
Evaluation and improvement of concrete pavement joint sealants
Sealing concrete pavement joints is considered beneficial to pavement performance for various reasons. First, joint sealants prevent water from infiltrating the pavement structure, which mitigates the development of moisture related distresses. Second, joint sealants prevent the intrusion of fines into the pavement joint, which minimizes spalling and blowups when the pavement expands due to environmental loading. Finally, the use of joint sealants reduces the amount of deicing chemicals that enter the pavement system, which can accelerate the deterioration of dowel bars.
Even though sealing pavement joints is considered beneficial for pavement performance, various state Department of Transportations (DOTs) are experiencing premature joint sealant failure. Premature joint sealant failure occurs when the sealant fails earlier than the expected designed life, and sometimes this occurs less than one year after sealing a joint. Premature joint sealant failure results in state DOTs wasting time and resources to reseal pavement joints every few years instead of at the end of the sealants intended design life.
Sealants prevent water, incompressible materials, and deicing chemicals from entering the pavement system. However, current sealant types, joint reservoir designs, and construction practices need to be evaluated to determine the effectiveness of the current practices and identify potential ways to improve them. Current reservoir design was implemented for conventional joint plain concrete pavements, based on empirical relations, and developed years ago. With the help of strain data from instrumented in service pavements, there is opportunity to reevaluate current joint design strategies and guidelines and revise them, if needed.
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ISCP would like to feature a “STUDENT RESEARCH SPOTLIGHT” each month, or every other month. If you would like to nominate a student, or if you are a student and would like to nominate yourself or a colleague, please send ISCP an email to: newsletter@concretepavements.org
ALL SPOTLIGHTS:
DECEMBER 2021—Inaugural: Katelyn Kosar, Phd Student-Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Pittsburgh (Pitt): www.concretepavements.org/2021/12/14/new-at-iscp-student-research-spotlight/
JANUARY 2022: Aniruddha Baral, Ph.D. Candidate-Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Illinois-Urbana-Champaign: www.concretepavements.org/2022/01/15/student-research-spotlight-jan-2022/
FEBRUARY 2022: Jordan Ouellet, Tech, BEng, MASc, PhD Candidate, Teaching and Research Assistant, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign: www.concretepavements.org/2022/02/26/student-research-spotlight-february-2022/
MARCH 2022: Sampath Kumar Pasupunuri, Ph.D. candidate, Pavement Engineering-School of Civil Engineering, University of Nottingham, UK: https://www.concretepavements.org/2022/03/31/student-research-spotlight-march-2022/
APRIL 2022: Anupam B R, Pursuing his doctorate-Indian Institute of Technology Bhubaneswar, India: https://www.concretepavements.org/2022/04/15/student-research-spotlight-april-2022
MAY 2022: Andréia Posser Cargnin, Ph.D. Candidate, Polytechnic School, University of São Paulo (São Paulo, Brazil): https://www.concretepavements.org/2022/05/09/student-research-spotlight-may-2022/
JUNE 2022: Charles Donnelly, Ph.D. Candidate, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Pittsburgh (Pittsburgh, USA): https://www.concretepavements.org/2022/06/24/student-research-spotlight-june-2022/
JULY 2022: Amir Malakooti, Ph.D. Candidate, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Iowa State University (Ames, Iowa, USA): https://www.concretepavements.org/2022/07/30/student-research-spotlight-july-2022/
AUGUST 2022: Haoran Li, Ph.D. Candidate, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Pittsburgh (Pittsburgh, USA): https://www.concretepavements.org/2022/08/24/student-research-spotlight-august-2022/
SEPTEMBER 2022: Sumit Nandi, Ph.D. Candidate, Department of Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee (Roorkee, India): https://www.concretepavements.org/2022/09/18/student-research-spotlight-september-2022/
OCTOBER 2022: Eric Ribeiro da Silva, Ph.D. Candidate, Department of Civil Engineering, Polytechnic School of the University of São Paulo (São Paulo, Brazil): https://www.concretepavements.org/2022/10/20/student-research-spotlight-october-2022/