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 July 2023 is Ricardo Hungria, a Ph.D. student at Louisiana State University (Baton Rouge, USA).
BIO:
Ricardo Hungria is currently pursuing his Ph.D. degree in Engineering Sciences at Louisiana State University. He holds a master’s degree in sciences of construction management and a bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering. Ricardo’s main area of focus is the application of engineered cementitious composites (ECC) for ultrathin whitetoppings. He is highly skilled in using Finite Element Analysis (FEA) software and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). His knowledge also extends to field experiments where he has installed strain transducers, gauges and thermocouples with the purpose of collecting data for his research.
TITLE:
Evaluation of Novel Jointless Engineered Cementitious Composites Ultrathin Whitetopping
Ultrathin whitetopping (UTW) is a pavement rehabilitation technique that consists of pouring a concrete layer on top of a distressed asphalt concrete (AC) pavement to create an enhanced composite structure with a higher bearing capacity. Even though UTWs have shown satisfactory performance, major distresses have been reported in them. These distresses are due to the brittle nature of concrete, the poor structural conditions of the AC layer, and the lack of a sound bond between the concrete and the AC. Due to these issues, an alternative material has been proposed for this type of application. Zhang et al. proposed Engineered Cementitious Composites (ECC) for Ultrathin Whitetoppings, due to its high compressive strength, superior flexural strength and lower modulus of elasticity in comparison to that concrete, which could lower the development of tensile stresses due to restrained shrinkage. In addition, ECC, also known as bendable concrete, corresponds to a novel type of High Performance Fiber Reinforced Cementitious Composites (HPFRCC) that was designed and optimized based on micromechanics and fracture mechanics concepts. The most distinctive feature of ECC is its high deformation capacity, which ranges between 100 to 800 times that of regular concrete or fiber reinforced concrete (FRC) (between 1 to 8% strain capacity in uniaxial tension). These attributes have made ECC very attractive for the transportation industry, however the cost of ECC was very high, which made its application unfeasible.
After trial and error experiments, a cost-effective version of ECC was developed. This version displayed remarkable properties such as superior ductility under uniaxial tension, superior flexural strength, high compressive strength and an enhanced fatigue life in comparison to that of concrete. In addition, these properties may also allow for the reduction of pavement thickness. Considering these attributes, this cost-effective ECC version was utilized for the construction of the first jointless ultrathin whitetopping (UTW) overlay in America. This overlay project consists of three instrumented sections; two ECC sections completely jointless with a thickness of 63.5 mm (2.5 in.) and 101.5 mm (4 in.)., respectively, and a third section of a jointed concrete UTW of 101.5 mm (4 in.) (that will serve as a control). The main purpose of this project is to determine which material is better for UTW applications. In order to achieve this goal, accelerated loading is being conducted on these sections. Moreover, a finite element model is being created based on the gathered data from the instrumentation, and will serve for developing the design guidelines for this material.
Figure 1: Accelerated loading on top ECC 4 in. section
Significance of the research: The impact of this investigation is significant since it will help in the development of a long-lasting transportation system, with an extended service life and less repair costs. Furthermore, no design guidelines for ECC-UTW applications exists until now. This investigation will be the first in provide the methodology for designing these structures.
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/
JUNE 2023: Saima Yaqoob, Ph.D. Candidate, KTH (the Royal Institutes of Technology) (Stockholm, Sweden): https://www.concretepavements.org/2023/06/15/student-research-spotlight-june-2023/