Date of Graduation
12-2024
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Science in Civil Engineering (MSCE)
Degree Level
Graduate
Department
Civil Engineering
Advisor/Mentor
Murray, Cameron D.
Committee Member
Fernstrom, Eric
Second Committee Member
Hale, W. Micah
Keywords
Arkansas; Transportation; Concrete; Cement; Fly ash
Abstract
The Arkansas Department of Transportation (ARDOT) currently requires a minimum cement content of 564 pounds of cement per cubic yard of concrete. This minimum cement requirement can be reduced through the utilization of optimized gradation of aggregates within concrete mixtures as well as the addition of supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs) such as fly ash. The study presented in this paper aims to demonstrate how the use of the Tarantula Curve can be used to design concrete mixtures with reduced cement contents while maintaining sufficient workability for concrete mixtures to be used for slipform paving. Fresh workability was measured using the slump test and novel methods such as the box test, float test, and the vibrating kelly ball test. Additionally, compressive strength and flexural strength were evaluated for the concrete mixtures to ensure adequate strength properties were achieved. There were three coarse aggregate gradations tested in the mixtures: #57 aggregate only, a combined gradation of #57 and #7 aggregate, and a truly optimized mixture which was developed in the lab to ensure the gradation was perfectly within the bounds of the tarantula curve. All mixtures were tested with and without 30% fly ash replacement except the truly optimized mix which was only tested with 30% fly ash replacement to conserve material. It was determined that the cementitious materials content in portland cement concrete pavement (PCCP) could be reduced to 440 pounds per cubic yard while still meeting strength and workability requirements.
Citation
Cook, A. (2024). An Investigation into the Effect of Performance Engineered Mixture (PEM) Design on the Workability and Strength of Concrete Pavement Mixtures. Graduate Theses and Dissertations Retrieved from https://scholarworks.uark.edu/etd/5539
