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 June 2023 is Saima Yaqoob, a Ph.D. student at KTH (the Royal Institutes of Technology) (Stockholm, Sweden).
BIO:
Saima Yaqoob holds a first-class bachelor’s in Engineering B.E. (Civil) from NED University of Engineering and Technology, Pakistan. After working as a structural design and planning engineer, she moved to Sweden and received her M.Sc. in Civil and Architectural Engineering from KTH (the Royal Institutes of Technology), Stockholm. She is currently a Ph.D. student at the Concrete Structures department (KTH) and her research project focuses on the rapid repair of concrete pavement.
TITLE:
Rapid Repair of Concrete Pavement
Road infrastructure (pavements) is a major constituent of a developed society, and well-operating road networks are a key factor for a sustainable society. Concrete pavements are an excellent alternative for high-traffic volume roads and roads subjected to concentrated and permanent load. However, constructing or rehabilitating concrete pavements with cast-in-place concrete is quite challenging on heavily-trafficked roads as it requires several days before opening the highway for regular traffic operation.
In Sweden, asphalt pavements are dominant due to the lack of technical expertise in designing and rehabilitating concrete pavements. The proportion of concrete pavements is less than 1% in Sweden which is underrepresented compared to different European countries. Therefore, the Swedish Transport Administration (Trafikverket) has started to investigate rapid repair techniques of concrete pavement that prevent extended lane closures and long detours for road users, resulting in durable pavements without jeopardising their performance.
Different techniques can be used to rehabilitate concrete pavements, i.e., asphalt overlay, rapid strength cast –in place concrete and precast technology. The rehabilitation of concrete pavement using asphalt overlay and rapid –strength cast–in–place concrete is time efficient but does not result in durable solutions. In contrast, precast technology based on precast slabs is an innovative technology that can be used to repair concrete pavements during short work-windows and results in long-lasting pavements. The repair method using the precast slabs is similar to the conventional cast-in-place concrete; only the construction method is different. The conventional cast-in-place method replaces the deteriorated slab with fresh concrete. In contrast, in a jointed precast concrete pavement system, the damaged slab is removed and later, the precast slab is installed on the existing or treated base.
Our research project goal is to adapt the existing experience of precast technology and further develop it to meet the Swedish conditions, e.g., geology and geography, studded tire effect, weather and climate conditions, traffic pattern, design codes, and construction tradition. The project includes a literature survey of emerging precast technology, numerical modelling and a field test. As the precast concrete slabs are fabricated in a factory and then transported to the project site, only minimum time is required for the grouting materials underneath the precast slab and in the dowel slots to achieve sufficient strength before the traffic operation. The study shows that precast technology has a significant potential to reduce the rehabilitation time of concrete pavement.
In jointed plain concrete pavement systems, joints are created to induce shrinkage cracks at a known location, significantly affecting the load transfer efficiency between the adjacent slabs. Therefore dowel bars are provided in the longitudinal direction or in the direction of traffic load. A schematic view of the precast concrete slab is presented in Figure 1.
Figure 1: Schematic view of precast concrete slab
To ensure good structural performance, the appropriate location of the dowel bar is very important. Therefore, the analyses of flexural stress concentration will be conducted in numerical simulation by considering three different positions of dowel bars in concrete slabs, i.e., at top, mid and bottom height, see Figure 2. Furthermore, the mislocation of the dowel bars will also be examined in numerical modelling. The project also includes a field test to demonstrate the use of precast slabs to repair damaged highway under Swedish conditions.
Figure 2: Different position of dowel bar in concrete slab
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/
NOVEMBER 2022: Zachary Brody, Ph.D. Candidate, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Pittsburgh (Pittsburgh, USA): https://www.concretepavements.org/2022/11/18/student-research-spotlight-november-2022/
DECEMBER 2022: Jesús Castro Pérez, Ph.D. Candidate, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (Urbana, USA): https://www.concretepavements.org/2022/12/17/student-research-spotlight-december-2022/
JANUARY 2023: Dan King, Ph.D. Candidate, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Iowa State University (Ames, USA): https://www.concretepavements.org/2023/01/26/student-research-spotlight-january-2023/
FEBRUARY 2023: Kathryn Kennebeck, Ph.D. Candidate, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Pittsburgh (Pittsburgh, USA): https://www.concretepavements.org/2023/02/28/student-research-spotlight-february-2023/
MARCH 2023: Sinan Kefeli, Ph.D. Candidate, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Iowa State University (Ames, USA): https://www.concretepavements.org/2023/03/13/student-research-spotlight-march-2023/
APRIL 2023: Niwesh Koirala, Ph.D. Candidate, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Texas Tech University (Lubbock, USA): https://www.concretepavements.org/2023/04/07/student-research-spotlight-april-2023/
MAY 2023: Christian A. Sabillon, Ph.D. Candidate, The University of Texas at Austin (Austin, Texas, USA): https://www.concretepavements.org/2023/05/05/student-research-spotlight-may-2023/